


One More Week

by Azzie_Tangerine



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Also Zeke and Carrie are definetly siblings, And I tried to give some background characters personality, And Kirby seems to forget a lot, And ngl the devils were awesome yet annoying, Because they were cool in concept, But he genuinely cares for Fluff's safety, But its not a lot and I doubt many care about them, But like it's totally not, Dom is cranky for most of the fanfic, Especially Kirby's Epic Yarn, Fluff is obviously head over heals for Kirby, Gonna get a bit angsty, I also mention some additions from Extra Epic Yarn, I have no idea where these hits and kudos are coming from, I keep adding more tags whoops, Kirby Star Allies, Kirby Star Allies Spoilers, Kirby is 14 in human years, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, Kirby's also pretty oblivious, M/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Kirby Star Allies, Prince Fluff is 16, So there won't be smut, Spoiler warning for most Kirby games actually, Starts off short but gets progressivly longer by the end, This story's like Harry Potter, This was originally an attempted slowburn, You could squeeze some Angie x Mara out of this, You've been warned, and if you want, completed story, i don't make the rules, what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 61,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22106380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azzie_Tangerine/pseuds/Azzie_Tangerine
Summary: It has been a year since Void Termina had been defeated by Kirby and his friends. Everyone in Pop Star had finally settled back into peace. After the majority of the year was spent doing nothing, Kirby decides to take a week long vacation to Patch Land, a place he hadn't visited in years. But upon arriving, he finds that something seems... wrong with the atmosphere. Everyone seems gloomy, even if they smile when Kirby calls at them. Especially Prince Fluff, who seems to find excuses to not talk to Kirby for the first few days. Nothing Kirby couldn't fix!Even if he needs to add one more week to his vacation!...Or several...(Aka, the author's challenge to plan a story and write the first five chapters in a month)
Relationships: Bandana Waddle Dee & Kirby, King Dedede & Kirby & Meta Knight, Kirby & Dom (Kirby), Kirby & Meta Knight, Kirby (Kirby) & Everyone, Prince Fluff & Dom (Kirby), Prince Fluff/Kirby (Kirby)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

“Sir Meta Knight is with the Halberd, I’m sure you know where the Halberd is.”

Kirby nodded a thanks to the knight soldier, before heading down to where the knight instructed. He glanced around at the decorated walls that surrounded him as he walked on the soft carpet, turning around corners of the castle as he tried his best to remember where the room to the Halberd is. He’d go and take a wrong turn a few times, and sometimes downright forget where to go.

It’s been a year since Kirby and his friends had defeated Void Termina, and Dreamland had finally settled back to its peaceful nature it used to be famous for. Everything and everyone was content with this change. King Dedede had been working on the country as a whole, repairing towns and being more involved than ever before. Bandana Dee had been training others in self defense and even recruiting more people in Dedede’s army, to keep everyone prepared in case another threat arrived. And Meta Knight had been patrolling all of Popstar with similar thoughts to Dee, and because of it, Kirby had seen the elder very few throughout the year. The fact he got news of the knight back in Dreamland, let alone said knight wanting to talk with him, made Kirby ecstatic. Either it was another threat, or just an excuse to talk with Meta Knight.

What has the one and only Kirby been doing this past year? A whole lot of nothing. He’s hung out with King Dedede and helped Bandana Dee, and even went patrolling with Meta Knight once. He napped, he ate. But that was just about it. Kirby would usually love the peace and quiet, but the outcomes of Void Termina led to Kirby being crowded with thoughts. The fact that Void and himself were connected in some way, it was just something Kirby didn’t want to think about as he slept. Which sucks, because sleeping and eating were Kirby’s favorite things to do.

Kirby opened the door, with one eye closed as he hoped this was the correct door. The door creaked slowly, and now that it was open the pink warrior could see the staircases spiraling down, and Kirby beamed up. He burst into a run down the stairs, something many would not recommend to do, his nubs for hands up to the roof. “META KNIGHT!”

He got to the end of the stairs, which led to the humongous room that held the famous battleship. He immediately recognized the bat wings of the warrior, who turned after Kirby had shouted. Meta Knight lowered himself to the ground, his wings folding underneath his cape. “Oh, hello Kir-”

Kirby threw himself onto the knight, hugging the knight tightly as Meta Knight stumbled back. “It’s been so long!” He shouted.

“It’s been two months…”

“Exactly!” Kirby let go of the bigger warrior, his blue eyes shining. “Two months is twenty years in Kirby time!”

“Is it now?” Meta Knight chuckled slightly, before turning away from Kirby. “Grab that box for me will you?”

Kirby calmed down a bit, enough to stare at Meta Knight right afterward. He glanced at the box Meta Knight was now pointing at, before looking right back at him with a confused gaze. “Huh?”

“It’s supplies. For my teams’ next trip. It needs to be on the ship.”

Kirby narrowed his dotted eyes. “Did you call me here just to carry stuff!?” Meta Knight knew that Kirby didn’t like heavy duty work.

The knight didn’t respond, only revealing his wings and flying up towards the top of the ship again. Which led to Kirby sighing and reluctantly grabbing the box. Carrying the box to the ship was painfully slow, considering Kirby couldn’t just float upwards and hold it at the same time. It seemed normal at first, but when he got to the stairs he started to dramatically push the box like it weighed a million tons. And by the time he had gotten into a safe room, he let out an exaggerated gasp and fell to the ground. He wasn’t even sure if this was the room Meta Knight wanted it in. But he was done.

Kirby felt like he was laying on the cold metal ground for ages, before he heard the warriors armored footsteps. “...Kirby.”

Kirby only let out a few muffled groans, to which Meta Knight grabbed the younger boy and set him on his feet. 

“Quit acting like I made you clean all of Dedede’s castle.” Meta Knight scorned, but with a tiny bit of lightheartedness. “Which...actually, isn’t that bad of an idea.”

“Sir!” Kirby whined. Sure, he loved helping people, but chores!?

The elder moved his body away, his dark cape flicking slightly. Kirby heard a small chuckle come out of his silver mask. “Calm down Kirby, I’m only joking.” He started to walk away again, opening the door to the clearing of the ship. “You’re just as childish as ever.”

Kirby made a pouty face, and followed after him, jumping through the door frame before the door could shut completely. “I’m not childish!” he threw his arms up again, flapping them slightly as he jumped around Meta Knight. “Did you just call me here to be a bozo?!”

“Not completely.” Meta Knight replied. Compared to the hopping Kirby, Meta Knight was the calmest person on Popstar.

Kirby only smiled. Meta Knight, being as vague as always. He glanced around the ship, before realizing the ship was too quiet everywhere else. “Hey, where’s your team, by the way?”

“On break.” Meta Knight answered, his yellow eyes staring at the hyper child. “They’ve been working hard, so I let them have the whole day off. To see friends and family.”

Kirby nodded slightly. 

“Speaking of, have you thought about taking a break yourself?” Meta Knight asked.

Break?

“Break?” Kirby repeated his thoughts. He stopped hopping, only standing still like the older knight. “Hasn’t this whole year been one giant break?”

“I-” Meta Knight then sighed. “I meant, have you ever thought about leaving Popstar for a bit. A little vacation, to say.”

Kirby’s blue eyes blinked as the thought hit him. “Oh.” He looked at his circular hand as he fell silent. “Well, I guess I haven’t been to Ripple Star in a while… But things have been awkward there for quite some time…”

Meta Knight’s bright yellow eyes darted to different objects, before he commented. “What about Floria?”

“Their seasons always change…”

“Aqua Star?”

“That place is almost completely water…”

“...Orange Woodland?”

“Pretty sure that place and the rest of Seventopia don't have color anymore…”

Meta Knight groaned. “If you’re this picky Kirby, you’ll be bored forever.” 

Kirby made another pouty face, crossing his arms. Or, at least what were considered Kirby’s arms. 

“Hmm…” The knight put his glove on the edge of his silver mask. His eyes then flashed as if something hit him. “Say, when was the last time you visited Patch Land?”

The name made Kirby physically flinch. He hadn’t heard that name in who knows how long. Way before he even knew of Void Termina. Kirby glanced upward to Meta Knight, not sure how to reply. “It’s been… so many Kirby years…”

Meta Knight chuckled. “Why not visit there again? What was that friend you met over there? Prince Fluff?”

Another name Kirby hadn’t heard in a while. The name made him slightly smile though. It reminded him back then when he could go to Patch Land if he felt like it. The sweets in Treat Land, the soft cotton ball snow of Snowy Land, and even the heat from Hot Land. He met some good friends there, like Zeke and Beadrix.

But the closest friend from there was definitely Prince Fluff. 

He was the first one from Patch Land Kirby had met, after saving his life from a yarn monster. They both had goals in mind, for Fluff it was to find his parents and restore Patch Land, and for Kirby it was to find a way back home. They had teamed up, and saved Patch Land together. Kirby taught the prince how to fight, and Kirby learned the accustoms of Patch Land. He was given a sock to travel there any time, but…

“I lost that sock a long time ago.” 

Before he had lost that sock, he’d carry it with him all the time, and visited Fluff every month. He was heartbroken after losing it, even trying to take his Warp Star to Patch Land directly, since it was within view distance of Popstar. But Meta Knight said that his real form would be “too much for a world made of yarn to handle”. Eventually, other adventures made him forget about it. Well, as much as he could, at least.

“...And I’m sure if you actually cleaned your room, you’d find it.” Kirby snapped out of his thoughts hearing Meta Knight speak again. 

“I have!” Kirby argued, puffing his cheeks up.

Meta Knight didn’t reply, he only stared at the pink puffball. After a bit of silence, he started walking again. “This was a nice conversation, but there’s more boxes I need you to help me with.”

Kirby’s puffed cheeks got bigger. He wasn’t done with this conversation yet. He started running after Meta Knight. “You can’t just give me this idea and leave!”

Meta Knight didn’t respond… again. 

“SIR!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Bye Meta Knight!”

Kirby waved off to the elder, before hopping up the stairs. His hops were obviously slower than before, due to him carrying boxes to help the knight. But now that he had the excuse to leave, he was relieved and ready to nap.

But he wouldn’t nap just yet.

“I gotta find that sock!” Kirby exclaimed, even if he was now alone jumping up the stairs. He pushed the door open, now slightly skipping on the carpet of Dedede’s castle. The realization of the situation soon settled in, however, which made him slowly morph into a normal walk. Well, as normal as Kirby could walk. His normal walks were swinging his paws back and forth, and his feet only stepping a little smaller than a skip.

“It has been so long though, where could it possibly be?” He carried that sock with him all the time, it could’ve been anywhere at this point! Where was he supposed to even start?

...Say. Who was originally known to steal other’s things? 

“King Dedede!”

It worked out so well, he was in that penguin’s castle right now! He broke into a run again, his blue eyes darting from side to side as he checked through the halls. “DEDEDE!”

Darn, why did castles have to be so big? Dedede could be anywhere! 

He wasn’t in the great hall, he wasn’t in the kitchen, he wasn’t in the sweets bin.

“DEDEDE!”

He was pretty sure everyone in the castle could hear his voice by now. The fact that every Waddle Dee he saw was staring at him was evidence to that.

“DE-”

As soon as he ran into the throne room, he had ran straight into the familiar red robe of the king. Kirby let out a small squeak in shock, falling over due to not expecting it. 

The penguin turned his head in surprise, before he beamed. "Kirby! What are ya doing runnin around like that?" 

Kirby had gotten himself back to his two feet, and he waved to King Dedede. "Hi!" 

"...Hi?"

Kirby saw Bandana Dee moving away from the king, waving at Kirby as the king spoke. He waved back. "How have you guys been?"

Bandana Dee and the king glanced at each other before looking back to Kirby. "I'm on my lunch break…" Bandana explained.

Kirby was hungry. He was going to say something, but stopped. What was he trying to find King Dedede again for? Oh! Right! "Have you seen the magical sock?"

"But ya don't wear socks." King Dedede protested, blinking.

"Maybe he wants to make a sock puppet like you do for us waddle dees." Bandana Dee suggested. "I like socks puppets." 

“Or maybe it can be used as a clog.” King Dedede added. “Ya know, because of that weird water sound Kirby constantly hears at night?”

"No!" Kirby waved his arms. "I don't want  _ a _ sock! I want  _ the _ sock! The one that transports you to Patch Land, and isn’t a clog!" 

"Ah." The king suddenly seemed to have realized what Kirby was talking about. Bandana Dee still seemed confused, or maybe he just wanted a sock puppet. "Isn't that the place where I was possessed and turned into yarn?"

"Yes! Yes that's the place!" Kirby started to get excited. He started hopping again.

"But...didn't the majesty always get-" Bandana muttered. 

"It was that sock ya used to always carry around, right?" King Dedede asked, quickly interrupting Bandana Dee. 

"Yeah! That's the one!" 

"It was mostly white right? Had rainbow stripes?"

"Yes!"

"Haven't seen it." The king shrugged, which made Kirby's excited smile fall into a frown. He looked down, and felt King Dedede’s gloved flipper pat his head. “But good luck finding it Kirbs.”

Kirby didn’t respond, only slightly nodding. 

“Well, I need to go. Chef Kawasaki wants me to try out a new recipe of his. See ya!” He let out a laugh, before walking away, not seeming to notice Kirby’s slightly troubled face. Kirby wasn’t too surprised, even if he had changed through the years Dedede still had a habit to not think about others. 

Kirby watched the king walk out of the room, before feeling Bandana Dee tapping his cheek. “Hey, if you want, I can take you to the king’s sock drawer, he might’ve put it there without realizing.”

Kirby looked up to the Waddle Dee, surprised. Usually, Bandana did nothing behind the king’s back. Well, guess even Bandana Dee needed to be rebellious sometimes. Kirby smiled. “Yeah!” And started trotting behind Bandana Dee when he led the way.

Bandana and Kirby had always been similar in age, but Bandana was never as hyper as Kirby. He was more shy, and collected. The only other person Kirby knew to be hyper like him was Prince Fluff.

Oh, Kirby couldn't wait to see Prince Fluff again!

It had been too long!

Bandana Dee had opened the door to a room, and left it open for Kirby to walk in himself. “Thanks Dee!” he waved to the waddle dee as he left right afterwards. He was probably going to catch up with the king…

Kirby only smiled and looked around the room. He was expecting a drawer in the room, maybe two. Instead, there seemed to be  _ dozens _ . Was this all with socks?!

“Why does the king have so many socks …” Kirby muttered. It wasn’t like the king wore them. Did he use  _ all  _ of these to make sock puppets for the waddle dees?!

Well, putting that aside, he needed to search. So he walked towards the nearest drawer, opening it like it was a delicate old door.

✥✥✥

Kirby’s eyes sprung open very quickly, as he glanced around the room. Wait, where was he?!

Right, King Dedede’s castle. 

How long was he out?!

He didn’t even remember falling asleep, he must’ve after searching the room for a while. Kirby forced himself to stand, letting out a squeaky yawn as he did so. He slightly rubbed his eyes, before turning to the rest of the room.

...It was safe to assume that the magical sock wasn’t here. Which disappointed Kirby, it would’ve made things so much easier…

Where was he supposed to look now?

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the familiar painful feeling he hated. Hunger. Kirby skipped out of the room, opening and closing the door a little roughly compared to how he dealt with the sock drawers. As much as he wanted to find the magic sock, he needed to eat. He couldn’t focus if he didn’t.

He could visit Kawasaki, like King Dedede was earlier. Kawasaki was a good cook, plus Kirby tended to visit the chef anyways. Wouldn’t be weird if he found a sock there.

Especially the one he was looking for!

He passed through the halls of the castle, eventually leaving altogether, his movement still slightly slowed since he had just woken up. But the thought of eating woke him up as time went on, and as he walked through fields with chilly winds, saying hello to nearby citizens and jumping across streams or just small rocks. He was used to this now passive environment, it had been this way for a year after all. 

But even so, he couldn’t help but miss the excitement of having to fight everywhere he went. The excitement of stopping evil schemes. Even if it was something like stopping Dedede from stealing food. Fighting evil became normal for Kirby throughout the years, like a meal that was always the same time of the day. Without it, Kirby often became bored. And he was someone that got distracted easily.

Like Meta Knight had said, Kirby could use a vacation.

But that was just him. Everyone else had moved on to a bigger purpose. Kawasaki had been starting a restaurant these past few years, even before Void Termina, but it only became popular after Void’s defeat. Even if so, it was great that someone who Kirby used to fight could do something he dreamed to do. Even if it took a while.

Kirby had eventually saw the familiar straw building slowly approaching him, and he sped up his running, smiling brightly as he hopped inside the building.

“Kawasaki!”

He jumped in place a bit after walking in, immediately being filled with the smells of food. He glanced around, looking for the familiar egg shaped chef. But his call only resulted in silence. There was nothing that called back to him, even if it was to say hi. It confused Kirby a bit, as he walked around the small little building.

Where was everyone?

Maybe Kawasaki went out, Kirby had no idea how long he was asleep after all. It might’ve been hours since King Dedede was here. Well, he was still hungry, and it wouldn’t be a huge issue if he just took something small. And he’d just tell the chef when he sees him!

He had walked into the kitchen, grabbing a few cookies that were on a silver platter. Meta Knight would’ve scolded him for it, something about the kitchen being for ‘employees only’. Whatever that meant. Kawasaki never seemed to mind.

“Kawasaki?” he called out again, just in case the chef didn’t hear him earlier, placing the cookies in his mouth as he continued to look around. He grabbed a few other snacks on the counter, walking through the storage rooms. 

After a while, he heard some faint muttering in the corner of the kitchen. Kirby smiled, throwing all the snacks in his mouth at once, before running over. “Hi Kawasaki!”

The chef seemed to hear him this time, and he turned his attention to the pink puffball. “Hiya Kirby! I assume you’re hungry.”

“Duh!”

Kirby lightly hopped in place, and the chef pointed to the exit of the kitchen area. “I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

The pink puffball giggled and nodded. “Okay!” He bolted off, swinging the exit door open before throwing himself into the nearest seat. The seats here reminded him of the pillows in Ripple Star, the softest things he’d ever felt. They looked similar, but felt only half as soft. 

Kirby let out another yawn, glancing around on the walls of the room. Say, Kirby didn’t remember the few pictures being nailed up in here. Kawasaki must’ve just put them in. 

Kirby moved his face so that he could get a better look at the pictures. He could see Ribbon and Adeleine hugging in one, which made Kirby smile. He was surprised to see Magolor and Marx in another, both still had weird reputations. Especially Marx, who Kirby thought was dead until the adventure with Void Termina. Kirby wasn’t even sure if Marx had apologized for trying to conquer Popstar once. Where even was Marx...

A lot of Kirby’s friends were framed up on the walls. He even saw a tinier picture of Kirby, eyes closed and mouth cheering something the camera couldn’t capture. The picture was rather dated, seeing that Kirby was holding the magic sock in the frame, holding it close like it was a fluffy stuffed animal…

Oh yeah, he was supposed to be looking for that sock!

Kirby needed to put his mind in the game, that was the second time he forgot. 

By the time Kirby turned his head again, Kawasaki had entered the room. He was holding multiple trays of food, and placed them on the table in front of Kirby. Kirby’s eyes widened a bit. “Here’s your meal, Star Warrior!”

Kirby kept himself from jumping in place. “Thanks, mister!” He took a deep breath, before inhaling the first plate in front of him. He could’ve eaten it like a normal non-Kirby creature could, but would that be Kirby? He was about to inhale the other foods, yet he stopped and looked to the chef. “Oh, Kawasaki, you know that sock I had before? I had it in that picture.”

Kawasaki looked at the picture Kirby’s little paws were pointing at. He stared at it before nodding “Oh, that one? You used to carry that everywhere.”

Kirby smiled. “Yeah, I did. But I-”

“I remember Meta Knight constantly yelling about you having it during meals. I never saw you without it.”

Kirby’s smile faded, and he awkwardly grabbed the nearest food and swallowed it whole. He forgot about that. “Yeah, I did that-”

“Even the waddle dees weren’t that excited with their socks. You even slept with it next to you! But good thing that was only a phase.”

Kirby didn’t even notice his face being a slightly different shade of pink for a moment. The chef didn’t seem to notice either. “Anyways,” His smile curved once again. “I’m looking for it! And since I’ve come here a lot, I was wondering if you’ve seen it!”

“It’s been many years since I’ve last seen you with it.” Kawasaki answered, grabbing the empty plates. “But you can gladly check the lost and found! I never empty it just in case someone comes looking for something.”

Kirby swallowed the last bit of food and jumped onto the table. “Like me!” He jumped down, running forward to where the bathrooms were located. The lost and found was always next to it. “Thanks Kawasaki!”

If the chef wasn’t happy about Kirby’s feet being on the table, Kirby wouldn’t know since he didn’t say anything about it. He only waved in response as the puffball sprinted away.

Kirby ran towards the little cardboard box. On it was written “Lost and Fond”.

...It was written by Kirby back when he didn’t know how to spell found. That was a long time ago, okay? 

Kirby ignored the writing and hopped straight in, grabbing things out of the box, looking for the familiar cotton sock. He found jackets, some cool little necklaces, but no sock. Kirby’s little blue eyes narrowed. He started to see the same things multiple times, getting frustrated and throwing the not-sock items out of the box entirely. Nothing in here even seemed recognizable. 

That was, until he picked up what looked like an old apple core. Kirby’s eyes slightly twitched in disgust. How long was this apple here, Kirby wouldn’t even eat it! ...Because it was just a core! Wait, who would put  _ an apple _ in the lost and found?! Especially one that was already mostly eaten?!

Defeated, Kirby put everything back in the box, aside from the apple of course. Which he threw away in the trash. He waved to Kawasaki as he left the little restaurant, with no sock to take him to see his old friends. Well, at least now he had an idea of where to look next!

The boy took off with a dash.

✥✥✥

“Whispy!”

“Whhissppyy!”

Kirby called out as he pranced through the forest. He wasn’t worried about entering a wrong forest, Whispy Woods somehow showed up no matter which tree area he was in. He jumped across some roots, floated up to some tree branches. To get the guardian’s attention, he needed to be annoying.

Something he was told to be good at!

“WHISPY WOOOOODS!” He called out, using his little nubs to try and get the sound further. He jumped down onto the ground, before getting smacked by a whirlpool of air. The puffball winced as he fell to the ground.

He looked up, seeing the massive tree in front of him’s face appear. Whispy Woods stared at him with absolute hatred, even if the face was dotted like Kirby’s. Kirby seemed to cheer up immediately, and stood up. “Whispy!”

“What have I told you about disrupting our peace and quiet?!” The tree boomed, an apple falling out of his leaves, aiming for Kirby in a form of attack.

Kirby was used to this, and grabbed the apple before it could actually harm him. Instead of throwing it at Whispy like he always used to, even if he was tempted, he decided to only throw it at the ground. Beating up Whispy wasn’t really...exciting anymore. “I come wanting answers, Whispy!” He waved his paws. “As soon as I get them, I’ll leave!”

The tree stopped trying to hit Kirby, and sighed. “...What is it, then?” 

Kirby inhaled a bit of air, floating up towards one of Whispy’s branches, sitting on top of it. “I’m looking for a magical sock! Have you seen it?”

“A magical… what?” Whispy sounded like he just wanted to go back to sleep.

“A sock! Remember when I beat you up as a tank?”

“...You tend to beat me up all the time.”

“But Dreamland was yarn! And I fought you with another. He was my species, but blue! That friend gave me a sock, and I’m looking for it!”

“Well, I don’t know where it is.”

Kirby sighed in slight frustration, jumping off the tree and landing softly on the grass below. “Well, if  _ you  _ don’t know where it is, then where could it possibly be?!” He asked, kicking the ground. If only Meta Knight didn’t give him this idea, he wouldn’t be so frustrated to find something lost for years!

“It could be anywhere.” Whispy Woods replied.

“IT COULD BE ANYWHERE!” Kirby repeated. He put his face in his paws, groaning. He hated feeling frustrated, the last time he let it continue he helped Dark Nebula get released.

“Well, is that all you came to ask me?” Whispy asked, his leaves swishing in a slight breeze.

The same breeze made Kirby shiver. “Yeah.”

“Great. Now get out of my sight.” Kirby took a second to realize before a mass attack of apples came hurtling his way. He ducked over one and inhaled another, spitting it straight at the tree as he turned and ran. 

“THANKS ANYWAYS, WHISPY!” He shouted, running as he heard the apples bouncing at him. He heard the sound of a tree trunk shake, which gave Kirby the implication that he hit the tree. 

He continued to sprint even after he heard the apples stop. He didn’t stop until he was far from the forest. It was only until then that he let himself stop and actually catch his breath. The winds that had been out since he had exited Dedede’s castle seemed to be picking up, which made Kirby sigh. Not only that, but he could see the sun setting behind the mountains in the distance. He really had slept for longer than expected, he was only able to check three places before sunset!

Well, he wasn’t going to keep searching in the dark, when he could be sleeping. So the pink hero slowly started to run home, with not even a clue to where that sock could be. He saw others leaving into their own homes, until Kirby eventually made it to his home. Kirby had kept the same old little dome house since the residents built it for him all those years ago. He had the ability to move into something bigger, but Kirby didn’t have the heart to. This house was built just for him, so it always had a touch that nothing else could have. The only problem was its water issue.

Kirby opened the small wooden door, the winds outside quickly slamming the door behind him. His little home was, of course, a bit messy. His bed was ruffled from the night before, and his pillow was pushed down to the floor, and stayed there all day. He yawned, walking to his bed. He grabbed his pillow and threw it onto the bed.

Kirby laid on his bed, facing the ceiling. He was still upset about not finding the sock. He couldn’t understand where it could be. He couldn’t even remember where he had lost it. It just seemed like a lost cause.

Which sucked. Kirby was ecstatic to possibly see Prince Fluff again.

Kirby’s eyes narrowed as he heard the small dripping of water. Something he’s heard in this house for who knows how long, with no one really knowing where it comes from. The sound, plus the constant thinking about Void Termina, just wasn’t a good mix.

Kirby turned his head, trying to cover his ears. Of course, he could still hear the dripping of water.

_ Drip… _

_ Drip… _

_ Drip… _

Kirby groaned, turning his head. He’s had enough. He stood off his bed, realizing how the noise seemed to dial down just from that action. Was it inside the wall?

“I just wanted to see a friend!” He whined, turning towards the bed again. His gaze slowly glanced down underneath his bed. The area he tended to put junk when Meta Knight forced him to clean the house. It wouldn’t be easy to see, and people tend to not look or go under there. 

Could that…?

He got onto his stomach, crawling underneath his spot of comfort. Candy wrappers, and small boxes were everywhere. Now that he was under here, that water sound effect was even louder. Well, as loud as it could get. He pushed junk and trash aside, man a lot of stuff was down here. Due to the lack of light, he resolved to his circle paws to feel the way underneath, and until he got near the wall, there was nothing. But once he got there, he felt the soft feeling of moist cotton on top of a small box.

Wait.

Kirby immediately grabbed it, getting jumpy with hope way too quickly. He jumped, hitting his head on the bottom of the bed. He winced, before rushing out from under the bed. Once he could actually see, he looked down to what he grabbed.

It was a sock.  _ The _ sock. 

It had the white color. The rainbow stripes. It felt the same as it did before.

Kirby was dumbfounded. The very thing that was giving him that annoying sound, was the portal to Patch Land.  _ This _ is where it had been all this time?!

Well, he did often sleep with it before. It must’ve fallen under the bed at some point. The only thing that didn’t make sense was where the water was coming from.

But, that left Kirby’s mind very quickly. “I can see Prince Fluff again!” He cheered, jumping with joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is by far (at least where I'm at in writing this) the longest chapter I've written yet. And it's only filler, welllllp.  
> Anyways, yeah I don't own any characters in this story.


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you have in your bag?”

Kirby placed the brown backpack in front of Meta Knight, opening the top so he could show the knight what he had packed. “I brought some candy bars, and a Maxim Tomato for Fluff!” Kirby grabbed a bar to show the knight, giggling. 

“Mhm… and what else…?”

Kirby looked to Meta Knight, knowing he was implying things he ‘needed’. “I got my phone.” He pulled out the small pink piece of technology. He had used the phone back when he was split into four by Meta Knight’s mirror counterpart. Once again, he had put the item in Meta Knight’s face.

“What about blankets? Or a parasol ability in case it rains? Or-” Meta Knight rambled, his yellow eyes in the mask narrowing. 

“Oh, lighten up Meta!” King Dedede laughed, wrapping one arm around the knight, which the other groaned and tried to push away. The knight had never been touchy. “Kirbs will only be there for a week! He’s not patrolling with you and your crew!”

Bandana Dee looked over to the two, before looking to Kirby, patting the puff on the shoulder. “I’m sure someone will call if we need anything. So don’t worry about something happening while you’re away.” Kirby nodded, smiling brightly as he placed the belongings back inside the backpack. 

Meta Knight pushed himself away from Dedede, turning back to Kirby. “I’ll be on the Halberd by the time you come back, but I’ll gladly watch the sock for you so nothing happens to it.”

Kirby glanced down to the paw holding the magical portal sock. It was still a bit moist, and tended to drip water when the opening was lowered. 

“Nonsense!” Dedede protested. “You just said you’ll be away by then! I’ll keep it with me.”

“Hah, and risk you making a dumb sock puppet with it?!”

The two glared at each other, until Bandana Dee spoke. “Or… it can just stay at Kirby’s house.” Which the other two looked to Dee and fell into silence.

Kirby chuckled. “I’ll miss you all.” He hugged Meta Knight, and let Bandana Dee and King Dedede join in. He let go of the hug, grabbing his bag and the sock. “I’ll come back in one piece Meta.”

Meta Knight only responded with a shrug, and a “I know.”

“You better!” Dedede laughed. “It’ll be weird without you constantly yelling.” Kirby knew that was the king’s way of saying ‘yeah, I’ll miss you too’. 

Kirby beamed, and couldn't help but hop in joy. “Goodbye.” He spoke, waving with the wet sock.

As the others waved back at him, Kirby couldn’t help but think about how far he had gotten with the people in front of him. The closest thing Kirby ever had to a family, was with these three. Meta Knight had been like a father figure since he tried conquering Dreamland, Bandana Dee always treated Kirby like a little brother, and Dedede was sort of like a crazy uncle, or a laidback second dad. He loved them, even with the complicated history he had with them all.

Kirby smile widened as he clenched his eyes shut, and reached his paws into the magic sock, letting the whirlwind of air push him in. 

✥✥✥

Multiple feelings hit Kirby at the same time. The feeling of being pulled to a new place, and his body shifting into a form better to fit the environment of the area, it was something Kirby hadn’t felt in a long time. It made him nostalgic in a sense, and he felt his entire body fill with eager. He couldn’t wait to see the cotton texture, to feel the trouser-like grass. It was so close to him, that he could almost see it.

And the mood changed so quickly, for when Kirby opened his bright blue eyes, he found himself in darkness, and when he tried to open his mouth, all he was met with was water filling his mouth. His eyes widened, his eyes darting around. He saw the matching sock on the ground of the lake, multiple pebbles on top of it. It kinda surprised Kirby that he was able to leave it at all. 

Kirby reached out to grab the sock, when he realized that his arms had disappeared. At first, Kirby didn’t understand why, and panicked. Did the clogged portal do something to him?!

When he remembered that he was currently submerged in water, and how things worked in Patch Land, and looking at himself proved it to be true. He was in the form of a submarine.

He couldn’t even remember how he was supposed to move in this form, it had been so long that it didn’t even seem to come as an instinct. He only floated there, slowly sinking down until he felt the small rocks at the bottom.

It awfully reminded him back when he was first on this planet. He had trouble doing many things, including swimming. Even simple actions like eating were a problem, which of course it was, his entire body was made of a fabric that couldn’t support his inhaling ability. Kirby would’ve been lost if Prince Fluff didn’t help him, what was it he said back then? To imagine yourself as a fish?

Something like that.

Kirby closed his eyes a bit, trying to imagine himself as a little fish that wanted to race against the currents. A fish that had a place to go, and wanted to see a prince of another fish kingdom. 

He slowly felt himself start moving, which made Kirby open his eyes and smile widely. It was slowly coming back. Now, he just needed to remember how to use his yarn whip during this form.

He used the top of his head to grab the sock as swiftly as he could, hoping the small rocks wouldn’t hurt the sock physically. Once he knew he had it secured within the whip of yarn, he pushed himself where the light was showing. He didn’t seem to realize how cold the water really was, until he got closer to the surface, where it was much warmer. 

The moment his face hit air, his mouth opened and panted. He wasn’t used to holding his breath that long. Sure, he did do it quite a lot, but he hadn’t been swimming around in over a year!

He threw the sock onto the platform above him, before jumping out himself, immediately recognizing the surrounding area known as Fountain Gardens. He sighed as he continued to catch his air, letting his body switch back to its default form. He wasn’t expecting to show up here after over five years, completely soaked. Wet yarn wasn’t the best feeling in the world. 

It took a moment, until he remembered the backpack he took with him here. He quickly removed his from his back, pulling the small zipper to open it. He knew bringing it would turn it, and the rest of its components inside, into yarn or fabric. But again he wasn’t expecting to show up in a pond. He rummaged his dripping paws through the backpack, pulling out the pink cellphone near the top. He quickly tried to turn it on, but the phone responded with nothing but a blank screen and silence. 

Great. Meta Knight was going to kill him. 

Hopefully it’ll work when it dries out. It had worked underwater before, but then again, now it was made of yarn. 

Kirby sighed, placing the device next to the backpack rather than inside. He reached inside, looking at the candy bars and Maxim Tomato inside. The candy bars would be fine, it was only the wrapper that got wet. And the tomato would be okay too. The only thing the puffball was truly worried about was how unpresentable he would be, showing up to Patch Castle soaking wet and offering the heir to the throne a just as wet fruit.

Wait, why was Patch Land’s sock in a pond in the first place?!

Kirby glanced to the sock, a bit of yarn algae stuck at the end of it. It does explain why Kirby heard dripping water underneath his bed for a long time, but that didn’t comfort Kirby. Maybe, Prince Fluff had accidentally dropped it while out here, and was looking for it like Kirby was with his! That made Kirby smile, at least he wasn’t the only one who lost his sock. He could bring it back to Fluff, and they can have a happy laugh about them both losing it! Then they could talk for hours on end like they used to!

Kirby grabbed the sock and put it inside the backpack, zipping it up before grabbing it and the phone. He started skipping along, looking around at the other fountains in the area. The place was called Fountain Gardens, after all. Luck was on Kirby’s side, at least he didn’t land somewhere far from Patch Castle. Like, somewhere in Water Land. He would’ve spent at least a day getting to the castle, or at worst half his vacation. Considering Kirby’s likeness for naps, the latter would’ve most likely happened. 

...This place sure was quiet.

Quieter than before.

Sure, this place had been infected with yarn monsters on his first visit, but he would’ve expected it’s few habitants would be just as happy as he saw them before. He remembered how everyone was cheering when Prince Fluff announced that they had stitched Patch Land back together. Maybe they were sleeping?

He skipped along, past the small towers of Fountain Gardens, and through the fields of Grass Land. The grass felt just like it had before, but Kirby couldn’t enjoy it too much due to his body still damp. He had hoped the skipping and bright sunlight would dry him off before he reached Quilty Square, but considering how he saw the buildings approaching already, seems to be he’ll be making a quite unique, and unprofessional, impression after so long.

As he further approached the area, he took note of the changes in the area. They were small, but noticeable. There were quite a few more buildings here than before, most likely for more inhabitants or things to do. Dom Woole seemed to have been busy. There was also quite a bit of posters nailed to walls of the area, to which Kirby was too lazy to pay closer attention to them. It’s not like they would be important to Kirby, anyways. 

Something huge that was new was the amount of citizens he saw. Many Patch Landians were outside, covering the path to Patch Castle. They were talking, they were sweeping their entrances. They were shopping at a more extended shop area, it seemed like a functional town.

But, they didn’t  _ seem _ happy. Kirby couldn’t quite understand why, but there was just something off about all the Patch Landians. Their faces were all neutral, and none of them seemed to be strotting happily and laughing. It wouldn’t be bothering Kirby if this was his first visit here, they weren’t acting completely sad. But it wasn’t his first time, and Kirby knew this town was much more cheerful than this. Compared to then, now was a dark storm.

It physically hurt Kirby.

He narrowed his eyes a bit, walking through the town. He forced himself to smile and wave at everyone who looked at him. It was a small nod to hopefully get everyone else to smile. It seemed to work with a few people, as more and more people noticed who was there.

“Is that… Kirby?”

“ _ The _ Kirby?”

“The one that fixed Patch Land all that time ago?”

“The one that just fought Void Termina?”

Kirby only smiled and waved with his empty hand. “Hiya!” He cheered. He was surprised by the news of Void Termina reaching this planet… actually, it made sense. His adventure with Void spread everywhere, and it wasn’t like Patch Land was galaxies away from Popstar. But, he was kinda hoping it wouldn’t have been brought up so quickly. Again, he didn’t like thinking about Void.

Kirby continued to skip on by the Patch Landians, glad to see they lightened up at his presence. He still needed to get to Patch Castle, as much as other friends were here. He had only brought gifts for Prince Fluff. 

He gripped his still wet cellphone, making it through the crowd. It was easier to get by when everyone knew who he was. He started to get excited again, he could already see how the next five minutes were going to go. He would open the doors to Patch Castle, see Prince Fluff doing something royal, and surprise him with snacks and hugs! They’d laugh, and Kirby would have a good week here, spending every second of it with his best friend!

As he approached the large castle, he started seeing figures in the distance. He blinked, moving closer to see who was there and what they were talking about. He recognized Dom Woole talking to what looked like a guard. The guard seemed upset about something, and Dom looked extremely tired. More questions for the pink puffball. 

He waited until the guard floated off, before running over to the circular yarn figure. “Dom!” 

The figure seemed to tense for a split second, like he almost couldn’t believe the voice he heard, before he turned to Kirby’s direction. “Ag- Kirby?!”

Kirby was going to reach out and hug the figure, but ultimately decided against it when he saw the other’s weird expression. He seemed surprised, yet something else hidden underneath. So, he stopped right next to Dom instead. “I’ve come to visit! Where’s Prince Fluff?”

Dom stared at Kirby, before turning Kirby away from the castle with his mustache. “Well, that’s  _ great _ ! Your apartment is still open!” Kirby opened his mouth to reply, but Dom continued. “Prince Fluff is super busy right now, so it’s best to just leave him alone!” 

Kirby’s smile faded a tiny bit. “Oh…” This was already far from what he had envisioned. “Well, when will he be free? I brought him gifts and I’d like to hang out with him, and give him back his sock-”

Dom continued to slightly urge him away from the castle. The sheer mention of the sock seemed to tense up the male even more. “You can do that later! But for now, let’s just go to your apartment and put your stuff away.” He seemed to glance around, and cleared his throat. “Oh, look! Zeke and Carrie!” Kirby glanced in the distance, seeing the two Patch Landians. “Wouldn’t it be nice to catch up with them?!”

“Uh, yeah! They’re good friends!”

“GREAT!” Dom shoved Kirby away, shouting “So go away!” before seeming to have disappeared. Weird, it was almost like Dom didn’t want Kirby here…and was angry with him...

…

Hah! As if! 

He shrugged it off. Maybe, and hopefully, Prince Fluff just couldn’t be bothered right now. He sprinted over to Zeke and Carrie, who were talking a bit of distance away. They looked the same as they did before. 

“Hi!” he cheered, getting the two’s attention. They seemed to share the same amount of shock that Dom Woole did. 

“Kirby?!” Carrie gasped out, her pink floating triangles spinning as she spoke.

“You’re here!” Zeke shared the same amount of shock, even if he didn’t have the same feature as Carrie. 

“Yep! For a whole week!” Kirby nodded. “Prince Fluff’s busy apparently, how have you two been?”

The two glanced at each other, before Zeke replied. “Good, actually! Things have been perfect!” He smiled, and Carried mirrored the action.

“Yep! Just peachy!”

Kirby couldn’t help but sense the fakeness of that response. But, they wouldn’t lie to him! Right?

“Really?” Dom didn’t seem ‘peachy’. But Dom always worked, so it sorta made sense…? “Wanna know something funny? I showed up here, in a pond! How funny is that?!” He laughed, hoping they would laugh too. Or maybe bring up about how Prince Fluff had lost something so important.

Zeke and Carrie’s smile seemed even more fake, however. “Hilarious!” Carrie nervously laughed. 

Zeke took one glance at the bag Kirby was holding, before commenting again. “That looks heavy. You should go to your apartment!” He then seemed to move along, silently nudging Kirby towards the apartments.

Again, someone was pushing him away from Patch Castle…

Kirby hesitantly followed, but he couldn’t keep his smile up anymore. He looked to Zeke and Carrie, then to the rest of the citizens. They had returned back to their neutral gazes, and back to complete silence of going about their day. This was too much. Kirby wouldn’t be thinking too much into it if it was  _ just _ a few people acting like this. Or if it was just Dom Woole. But no,  _ everyone _ was like this! It set off so many alarms in Kirby’s head. And he hadn’t even seen Prince Fluff yet! Surely, he wouldn’t just leave everyone this gloomy! What was going on?!

Kirby only understood one thing.

No one here was okay.

And he didn’t know why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I didn't expect this story to have 83 hits and 12 kudos by the time chapter three was out. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!  
> This story was something I planned in a month, but I'm so happy it's actually getting some attention. Kirfluff owns my soul.


	4. Chapter 4

The apartments looked just like they did when Kirby was last there, including the cheap ladders to go to the other floors. Kirby took a quick glance upwards, seeing the murals of his neighbors above their doors. Just like all those years ago. But, there were quite a few changes, like some posters glued to the walls, and the building itself looked more polished. 

A bigger change was near the top left portion of the top floor. Kirby squinted his eyes, and noticed how the mural showed a golden Patch Landian with angel wings. Kirby could’ve sworn that was where Buster had lived, who was not golden and was a completely different shape than Angie. But Kirby was forced to change his train of thought when Zeke shoved him further along.

“We added locks to all the apartment doors while you were gone, so your apartment now needs a key to open it.” Carrie explained, spinning around in the air.

“Good thing we’re with you though!” Zeke lowered down to the little rug in front of the coth door, moving it before grabbing a bright golden key with his tail. He showed it to Kirby before placing it in the door.

As the door slowly opened, Kirby gazed into what used to be a place he often stayed in. His blue eyes slightly widened, and he walked inside after Zeke. 

It hit him with so much nostalgia, it looked just like it did all that time ago. Even if his yarn-like body was still slightly wet, he could feel the soft wool carpet he had placed in this room, it’s pink color sprinkled with candy patterns. A light blue couch laid right next to the entrance, to which Zeke floated towards when he walked in.

The puffball placed his damp electronic device onto the seat, smiling again as he walked to the blue and gold bed in the corner of the room. It’s glowing star pattern welcomed Kirby after so long, and he gleefully placed his backpack on top of the covers. His circular paw touched the soft blankets, and Kirby’s blue eyes looked to the striped pink walls and light blue dresser right next to the bed, remembering how the middle drawer held all his allowance in this world. He then looked at all the plushies littered next to the furniture. Kirby remembered placing every single object, and while it was simple he knew how proud he was at that time.

Kirby looked back to Zeke, who tossed the key onto the couch. “I’ll go get the others! They’ll love to see you again!” He exclaimed, his smile still having that hint of fake, before spinning away and letting the door close. 

Kirby couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He only brought things for Prince Fluff. Speaking of those items, he felt like checking on them again. He bounced towards the bed, opening the backpack. He grabbed the chocolate bars, having the small urge to eat them. Instead, he placed them aside and grabbed the Maxim tomato. Instead of fully made of yarn like Kirby, it was made of fabric like all the other foods. Looking at it, he could imagine seeing his reflection like he could at Popstar.

“That… looks like a Metamato.”

Kirby turned his body towards Carrie, who Kirby kinda forgot was still with him. The circular being stared at the fruit with a mixture of emotions, and Kirby quickly answered. “This is actually a Maxim tomato! I brought it from Dreamland.” 

“Oh…” Carrie shrugged. She glanced away. “That makes more sense. There hasn’t been any metamatoes since Yin-Yarn, after all…” She giggled, which seemed just as fake as the rest of the patch landian’s attitude. 

“You guys were never able to grow more?” Kirby asked, remembering the few things Prince Fluff said he was going to do after their adventure. Like growing more metamatoes.

Carrie only shook her head, yawning before answering. “Zeke tried, but no luck. The last one was the one you ate.” She rested on the bed afterwards.

Kirby nodded, trying to remember what Dom had told him all those years ago. Something about how newly crowned royals ate it to gain the shapeshifting ability during the rule, and Prince Fluff had eaten a non-ripe one when Yin-Yarn split the planet into pieces and stole the other metamatoes. Something something, that made Kirby and the Patch Land royals special, something. Kirby dazed off after that part. 

Kirby placed the tomato in his backpack, having a slight worry that Carrie would ask to eat it. Almost afterwards, he heard a knock at the door. Kirby glanced at Carrie, who had only looked back at him, her face fading from the fake smile to a more tired neutral. Kirby moved his feet towards the door, opening it quickly.

“Kirby!” The puffball almost fell over when two Patch Landians jumped into the room, causing Kirby to squeak slightly in shock. But, he quickly smiled, thinking that these three wouldn’t be like the others. They were happy, it wasn’t fake!

He looked to the two, throwing his paws in the air. “Mara! Beadrix! B-” He cut himself off, seeing that the hexagon athlete wasn’t here. And, worse off, now that he saw the two female’s faces, they looked just as fake as everyone else.

Why?

“Where have you been?” Beadrix squealed, her floating diamond accessories sparkling. 

Kirby chuckled slightly. “Saving other planets.”

Zeke closed the door after himself, looking rather disappointed. “Angie wasn’t home, so you’ll have to say hi to her another time.” He informed, floating next to Carrie, who was only resting in place. 

Right, Angie apparently lived here now. “I thought Angie liked her home in Grass Land?” He asked.

He continued on, even though all of his friends in the room tensed. “And where did Buster move?” He remembered Buster loving his apartment back then.

Mara turned away, and Carrie seemed to stumble over her words. “W-well, he...she-”

“Buster moved to Space Land!” 

Kirby turned to Zeke, and after saying that the others seemed to nod. “Yeah! Buster decided to look after that place after your last visit.” Beadrix added.

Kirby smiled. “Oh, well that’s great for him!” That made sense, Buster seemed like someone who would want to be a hero figure. “I’ll have to visit him some time.”

Mara didn’t respond, but the others did. “But how have you been? Did you collect any more beads?”

“Beads aren’t an allowance on other planets.” Kirby answered swiftly, letting his body sit down on the pink carpet. Carrie went and sat next to them, and eventually Beadrix and Zeke followed. Mara seemed to stay where she was, staring off into space.

“How are the couches in Dreamland?” Carrie asked, yawning slightly.

“Not as soft as the cushions on Ripple Star.”

“Do you still have that issue with a king stealing food?” Zeke asked.

“Oh, you mean with King Dedede? No, the last issue with that was a year ago.”

“Only a year ago?”

“...Well, in his defense, he wasn’t himself. You see, a jamba heart took over his mind and-”

“What’s with possession happening so often?” Kirby blinked and moved his attention to Mara, who had spoken. “Your dreamland friends were possessed when Yin-yarn shoved them here, as well.”

Kirby nervously laughed. “Yeah, possession happens a lot with them…”

Mara didn’t reply, which made Kirby’s smile fade. “You okay?”

Mara looked to Kirby immediately, and choked out a laugh. “What? Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?!”

Kirby only looked to her, and he quickly saw Zeke float upwards again. “Hey, I have a good idea! Why don’t we go have a picnic? We can snack and talk, instead of sitting in this room.”

Carrie yawned again. “I guess so.”

“That sounds beautiful!” Beadrix beamed. She looked to Kirby. “You’re coming too, aren't you?”

“Of course!” Kirby jumped up, his legs springing as he hopped in place.

“Okay! Let’s go!” Zeke looked to Mara, the square Patch Landian hopping, to try and seem excited. 

“Yeah!” Kirby cheered. Before long, they all started their way to have a picnic… somewhere. They’d figure it out.

✥✥✥

It wasn’t long into the picnic that Kirby said he wanted to go to his apartment and take a nap. From spending a whole day yesterday looking for the sock, to having a swimming surprise arriving here, then to everyone having a gloomy aura around them, it all made Kirby exhausted. But, once he actually made it to his pad, Kirby found himself grabbing the snacks he had brought with him, plus the algae covered sock, and running to Patch Castle.

It wasn’t intentional, of course. He was genuinely wanting to take that nap. But he hasn’t even seen Prince Fluff yet! And he had already been here for a few hours! 

Plus, how everyone was acting was urgent. He needed to tell Fluff how miserable everyone secretly was!

He made it towards the entrance, and quickly glanced from side to side. Dom wasn’t around, alright. He shuffled the foods he had to one hand, before using the other to open the door of the castle. It made a loud creaking sound, and the puffball walked inside. 

The castle was like a lot of Quilty Square, the same as it was when Kirby was last here. The dark blue carpet, the pastel pink walls, and the big caged windows. This castle was definitely smaller than King Dedede’s, but it still seemed huge and empty when walking inside, just like his close friend’s from Dreamland. 

Kirby strutted around the humongous hallways, wondering where the blue prince could be. Even if he were to compare this castle to others he’d seen, it was still larger than the normal home, so finding a prince that might not even be here could take a bit. He hoped it wouldn’t though, it wouldn’t be long for someone to see he wasn’t home, or for a guard to find him here.

So, Kirby would just have the release his inner ninja and hope for the best.

He walked through the halls, opening the doors slightly so that he wouldn’t be too noticeable. Look inside the room to see if Prince Fluff was there, and then check the next room. Rinse and repeat. 

As Kirby walked through the halls, the silence became unbearable. He didn’t remember this castle being so quiet. At a castle like King Dedede’s, there was always something happening. There would be Waddle Dees and some Waddle Doos around every corner. This castle wasn’t as noisy, but Kirby remembered seeing guards or at least hearing conversations often.

Well, it worked for Kirby, at least, but it still bothered him. 

And not only was the sound unbearable, but Kirby couldn’t help but feel as if the ground was calling to him. Which didn’t make sense, rugs couldn’t speak!

The sudden mumbling and the sound of wings flapping made Kirby panic and enter the nearest room. He kept the door crooked so he could see who was passing. Seeing the familiar white wings and golden body made Kirby smile. It was Angie! She seemed the same as everyone else, carrying that weird gloomy aura and neutral expression, but she also carried a yarn spear. Interesting, she became a guard? From what Kirby could remember, only Buster and Mara were actually interested in that job. Maybe her helping him during his adventure here made her change her mind?

Kirby wanted to say hi, but forced himself to stay still until she had left completely. Considering how everyone else was, she’d most likely force Kirby out of the castle. Which still confused Kirby, what could the prince be doing that requires his best friend to not see him?

Once Angie had left, he left the room again and started walking toward the muttering he was hearing. It sounded like Dom, which gave Kirby a lot of hope. 

“Some Patch Landians are still complaining about losing their home, your majesty.”

That made Kirby ecstatic. He peaked around the corner, and almost squealed from excitement. He knew that light blue fabric too well. There he was! It really was Prince Fluff! He was there!

His back was mostly turned away from Kirby, so he couldn’t see much. But, he noticed that the prince’s stature seemed a lot more tired. Guess royal work did that to you. His golden crown even slightly drooped, and if it wasn’t stitched to his head it probably would’ve fallen off by now. One part of the crown was even chipped, one of three spikes seemed to have been ripped off completely. That was new.

“Just tell them that we’re doing the best we can. Our guards are still too inexperienced to go yet.”

“But it’s been three years!” Dom commented. “They still aren't trained?!”

Prince Fluff sighed. “I’ve told you this before, Dom. Three years just isn’t enough time! It would be faster if we still had more experienced workers!”

What were they talking about? Was this what was so 'urgent'?

“Your parents were able to do it, your majesty.”

Prince Fluff flinched, and Kirby slightly narrowed his eyes. He remembered his parents being a touchy subject, but that was when they were kidnapped! “Well that didn’t help with Yin-Yarn, now did it?!” Kirby hasn’t heard Fluff be like this since...ever. He was used to Prince Fluff being more quiet, and reasonable. “If you-know-who hadn’t showed up, Patch Land would’ve probably been completely demolished!”

You-know-who? Who-  _ oh _ they’re talking about Kirby. 

“You’re like a light switch!” Dom sighed. “You keep acting this way because you keep bringing him up!”

Did Dom not tell Prince Fluff he was here?! He was always a bit of an uptight character, but really?!

Kirby couldn’t handle it anymore. He moved away from the corner, shuffling the stuff he had into one paw again. “What’s wrong about bringing me up?”

As the two turned to stare at him, a wave of tension warmed over Kirby. He didn’t like it at all. He placed the stuff he had on the ground, looking to Prince Fluff. The Prince was in absolute awe, like he hadn’t expected to see Kirby. Multiple emotions were in the puffball’s eyes; relief, happiness… and that same gloom.

No, not Prince Fluff too!

“Kirby?!” Prince Fluff didn’t take his eyes away from the pink puffball, almost like if he were to, Kirby would disappear. Suddenly, his dark eyebrows seemed to lower and scrunch up. “Where...how...why-”

Kirby decided to try and cheer him up by hugging the other puffball. “I had nothing else to do, so I came here for a vacation!” He hoped for some reciprocation, but it didn’t seem like Fluff was going to hug Kirby back any time soon. So, he reluctantly let go.

“I thought you were with Zeke and Carrie.” Dom spoke out, with gritted teeth as he glared at Kirby.

Kirby didn’t seem to notice that much. “Yeah, but I got bored.”

He turned back to Prince Fluff, who seemed very conflicted. There was so much Kirby wanted to say! “I brought you some gifts from Dreamland!” He exclaimed, turning over and grabbing the snacks again. He showed the prince the Maxim tomato. “This is a Maxim tomato! They’re popular at my home!”

Prince Fluff slowly grabbed the tomato, and before Dom could complain more he handed it to him, not moving his eyes away from Kirby. “Put this in the kitchen…”

Dom grumbled something under his breath, before leaving.

“I also got the sock back too! It was stuck in a lake at Fountain Gardens.” Kirby smiled a bit, giggling. “I lost my sock too, isn’t that funny?”

Prince Fluff only turned his head, a mix of flustered and something else. “Uh- yeah…” His voice said, breaking a little mid way through. Kirby’s face frowned when Prince Fluff started moving away from him. “Anyways, I’m really busy. It was nice to see you...Kirby.”

Kirby moved his paw. “But- I also got you these-”

The prince was already gone, leaving Kirby alone with the sock and chocolates. His eyes almost seemed misty, and Kirby quickly wiped his face before he could actually cry. He hated crying. 

But, why was everyone acting this way?! Dom he could get over, Mara and the others concerned him a bit much, but Prince Fluff?! What was going on?!

Kirby narrowed his eyes, grabbing the stuff before breaking out into a run. He felt his body merge into the shape of a car, but that didn’t stop him. 

“That’s  _ it _ ! I don’t know what’s going on, but I won’t let people be this sad!”

Why should they be sad, when they can be happy instead?! Something happened to make them this way, and Kirby wouldn’t have a good vacation if everyone faked their happiness, or just flat out avoided him!

He tripped over a joint in the rug, but he quickly got up. 

Kirby smiled again, with a bit of determination in his eyes. “I’ve fought gods, I can cheer up a town! No problem!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooo the second character finally shows up woooow.  
> He'll be more important soon, I swear!


	5. Chapter 5

By the time the sticker sun had risen into view of the town, Kirby had a plan.

It took a few hours of thinking, with frequent eating, and a rest, but he got it! 

He ran out of his apartment, immediately turning to his left and throwing his nubs for hands onto the door to Zeke’s apartment. The male opened the door in confusion, and wasn’t even able to question why Kirby was there, because once Kirby saw his face he shouted. “I’M THROWING A PARTY LATER! TELL THE OTHERS!” Before running away, leaving Zeke completely dumbfounded.

What else could cheer up so many people at the same time? Every party Kirby was at was even able to put Meta Knight in a laughing mood, so it would definitely cheer up Quilty Square!

And with Quilty Square happy, he could enjoy the rest of his vacation!

...Unless people from all the other locations on this planet were the same as everyone here. Then he’d just have to make more parties for them!

He broke into a run to the next apartment building, something that was new since he had last visited. It looked just like the one he was familiar with, only with murals of strangers instead of Patch Landians he knew by name. But, the fact they were strangers wouldn’t stop Kirby. He went to the closest apartment near him, and knocked on the door. 

Kirby waited a bit before the door even opened. A slightly confused oval Patch Landian stared at the puffball, with the same aura as everyone else here. 

Kirby smiled, and waved. “Hi! I’m Kirby! I’m hosting a party later, when the sun sets! Tell everyone else who lives here!”

The floating Patch Landian only stared at Kirby, before slamming the door on his face. 

Kirby only beamed and turned to walk away. “I’m sure he’ll tell the others here! Now who to tell next…?” He started to glance around, before landing his dotted eyes at the shopping area. Did Dom’s brothers still work there?

He broke into a run again, going towards the many open shops. He searched around, and instinctively rang a bell on the nearest one. He remembered this as the furniture shop, led by Chaise Woole. 

Kirby continued ringing the bell, before he saw a figure on the other side of the stand. “You can stop ringing that.” Kirby looked up to see the familiar gray circle with a blue worn down bow tie.

Kirby smiled. “Hi Chaise!” He wasn’t surprised to see that aura from Chaise too, but it still bothered him.And it didn’t help him understand either. He could think of one instance similar to a whole town being sad, that being Ripple Star. But, they were infested with dark matter, and had no hero. This place had the opposite, no infestation and a hero!

Chaise smiled a welcome one. A fake, but welcome one. “Still as, er, how do I say it? You’re still as carefree as ever?”

“Yep!” Kirby then waved one circular paw of his. “I’m hosting a party later today! You should come! Invite Loomis too!”

Chaise suddenly looked a little uneasy. “Well, I might have to work overtime today. Plus…um... it’s been so long since you’ve shown up, don’t you think things might be...er, awkward?”

“That’s exactly why I’m having this party!” Kirby exclaimed, climbing on top of the stand, waving his paw to show the rest of the town. “I want to catch up with everyone, and make everyone happy again!”

“But we are happy!” Chaise spoke up. “It’s not necess-”

“Yes it is.” Kirby then jumped off the stand. “Just tell Loomis and everyone else you see! I’ll tell Dom when I see him!” Kirby already knew he would, considering his other two visits to the castle. 

“...Sure thing.”

Kirby then started running away again, this time towards Patch Castle. Of course, he needed to invite Prince Fluff! And, Dom too! He jumped up the stairs as fast as he could, and swung open the doors. 

Within only minutes of running through the halls of the quiet castle, he had seen the figure of Dom Woole once again. Kirby started incorporating jumps into his running. “DOM! DOM!”

The Patch Landian groaned, before turning to the puffball. “Prince Fluff is busy.”

“I know, you’ve said it before.” Kirby then jumped up and down. “So you tell him that I’m having a party when the sun sets! I’m inviting everyone, including you and your brothers!”

Dom didn’t seem amused at all, however. “And why should I or the prince go…?”

Kirby seemed surprised. “Because Prince Fluff is my friend! And you all deserve a break to just have fun!”

“And what exactly will we be doing to ‘have fun’?”

Kirby stopped and glanced down to the floor. “I...haven’t decided that yet.”

“Thought so.” Dom looked like he was going to walk away from Kirby, and Kirby had a feeling Dom wouldn’t tell Prince Fluff anything unless he gave a good thing they would be doing.

“Wait!” Kirby called. He thought very quickly, and by the time Dom had his attention back on him, he was able to blurt out something. “I’ll be cooking a dinner! For everyone! And you won’t have to pay for any of it!”

He knew how much Dom liked not spending things. And, Kirby smiled when he saw Dom loosen up a little. Dom smiled a bit. “Okay, then.” And began to leave the room again.

“You’ll tell Prince Fluff, right?” Kirby called out.

He only heard a “Sure” before the door closed behind him completely, it’s shut echoing through the halls. Kirby cheered in victory, before skipping away. 

This was going to be great. Everyone would cheer up at his party, Prince Fluff would be there, they’d become best friends again, and his vacation wouldn’t be full of fakeness!

As he left the castle, he realized something. He hadn’t invited everyone in this town yet. There was Buster! Even if he lived in Space Land, he was still an ex-member of Quilty Square! He could quickly just stop by Space Land, find the athlete, and bring him to his party!

He started to run in the direction of Space Land, giggling as he did. Maybe Buster wasn’t like everyone else here?

Well, he’d just have to find out!

As he was heading towards the border, he heard a noise he wasn’t expecting, a scream. He instinctively summoned his yarn whip, seeing the familiar star on the tip glowing for the first time in years. His small feet that slightly throbbed from how much he was running sprinted towards the sound, ready to defend whoever was in trouble. He was Kirby, after all!

He arrived at a spot that seemed to be only a few feet away from the border to Space Land, since the big sign showing where it was is almost touchable. He saw brown yarn remains of some sort of being, with Angie floating nearby, removing the spear away from the dark yarn.

Kirby jumped right next to Angie, looking down at the yarn. He recognized the yarn and bead eyes as the remains of a Uniclod. Which confused him slightly. “What happened?” He asked.

“Just another yarn monster.” Angie answered, spinning her spear a little bit with her feet. She grinned at the puffball. “It happens often, nothing to worry about.”

“I thought all the yarn monsters disappeared when Prince Fluff and I defeated Yin-Yarn...” 

Angie didn’t respond to Kirby’s comment, she only asked her own question. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, I was going to find Buster to invite him to my party!” Kirby cheered. “You’re invited too, by the way!”

Angie lowered her gaze to the grass below her. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why?” Kirby tilted his head in confusion. 

“Because...um...Buster is all the way near the center of Space Land! It would take too long, don’t you think?”

Kirby placed his paw on the side of his face. “Oh, you’re right…” He then nodded. “Makes sense! Sucks though, it would be nice to see Buster again after so long.”

Angie didn’t respond, again. She only looked away from Kirby. “Well, I need to update Dom about this Uniclod…”

“You’ll be at my party, right?”

Angie let her blue eyes look at Kirby one last time before chuckling. “Wouldn’t...miss it.”

Kirby waved bye, glancing at the fading yarn before running back to the shop section. Even if Buster couldn’t come, he still promised to cook a meal. Cook ability or not, Kirby was sure it would taste just as great!

But first, he had to get stuff for the meal. What should he make? Curry seemed easy to make for a whole town. So, he’d grab stuff to make that! He glanced around, before seeing the perfect area, a stall with many groceries of food.

When Kirby was here before, he had always ate food made by royal chefs. Too bad this trip was turning out so different than those past ones, but the situation was giving him something to do. Even if it wasn’t as exciting as the thrill of beating up bad guys…

He grabbed just about everything he saw at the store. From sweet to spicy foods. Most of the items he didn’t even know would be good in curry, but Kirby didn’t care. He paid the owner of the store the beads he found in his drawers, before carrying each object into his home. 

He only had a small stove in this home, and a just as small coffee table in this apartment. But, he’d make it work. He could find something to cook with. This was going to be great!

✥✥✥

And…

Done!

Kirby jumped off his bed to look at the streamers from a distance, giggling a bit. Perfect. He looked over to the meal he had created, which was still steaming with heat. It didn’t look like curry at all, it looked like an abomination Chef Kawasaki would’ve destroyed instantly. But, Kirby was sure that it was only the look, and that it tasted wonderful!

Kirby gave the streamers one last look before opening his door and looking outside. Perfect timing, the sun was starting to set right then. Everyone would start showing up! He left the door wide open, and sprinted over to the large string in the center of the room. Summoning his yarn whip, he let it slightly grip the string, but not fully grip to activate it. He waited there, eagerly waving his empty hand and shuffling his yarn feet as he waited for someone to show up in the door frame. 

As time went on, the almost silent noises from the neon lights on his wall started to become the only thing he heard. He started to lose his smile, and started tapping his feet as he started to grow a little impatient. 

But he forced himself to calm down and smile again. The sun only just started setting, and as of now only a quarter of the sun was gone. They were probably still getting ready, or on their way as he thought right now!

So he continued to wait, watching only the door frame as the sun was lowering even more away from his view. It’s okay, maybe everyone was just running a little late!

Totally…

They’d be here!

...Right?

Kirby seemed a little unsure at this point, until he heard some muttering getting louder with each second. His blue eyes started shining and his smile widened as large as he could. He started getting giddy.

As soon as he saw the figures enter the frame, he yanked his whip, which pulled the string and released a wave of confetti into the air. “WELCOME!”

“Wow…” Carrie muttered, slightly yawning. She floated into the room, Zeke and Beadrix following. “What’s all this for?

Zeke nudged the circle as Kirby frowned. Zeke looked to Kirby with that same smile since Kirby showed up here. “Sorry we’re late, I was seeing if everyone else was ready.”

Kirby looked to the three, seeming a little confused. “Where’s Mara? Or Angie? The other townies? ...Prince Fluff?”

Zeke nervously laughed, and Beadrix spoke. “They’re probably sparkling up still! I’m sure they’ll be here.”

Kirby only smiled back, however it was noticeably weak. “Yeah…”

Carrie glanced around, before her face slightly scrunched. “Does anyone else smell that?”

“Oh!” Kirby let his whip dissolve back into nothingness, walking over to his coffee table, where the large bowl of his curry stood. It was no longer steaming, but it was hopefully not cold. “I made curry! You want some?”

Carrie glanced to Zeke while Beadrix gagged. “No, but thank you!” Carrie giggled out. 

“Yeah, I actually just ate.” Zeke’s yellow tail swirled a bit as if it wanted to escape the room. 

Kirby couldn’t get too angry at them, he didn’t cook this with the cook ability after all. But, even with that thought of reassurement, he still couldn’t be as happy and excited as he was earlier. He didn’t imagine this happening…

The puffball looked to the candy patterned carpet, before looking to the three Patch Landians. “No one’s coming...aren't they?” He chuckled. “Even Prince Fluff…” Saying that name again in that type of sentence make him feel just as sad as everyone else. It hurt him, just as much as seeing everyone miserable here in the first place. Maybe even hurt him more. 

“What? No!” Zeke smiled widely, trying to force it way too much.

“I’m sure everyone will come through the doorway right now!”

Kirby opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly closed it when he heard that familiar sound of wings flapping. His eyes suddenly shined with hope. Angie opened through the door, and he smiled. “ANGIE! YOU CAME!”

Angie’s eyes went wide. “Oh- right.” She looked to Zeke. “Prince Fluff wants to talk to you, by the way.” She whispered.

Unfortunately, Kirby heard. “Prince Fluff will talk to you guys, but not me?”

Angie’s eyes went wide. “No! No that’s not it at all! He’s just-”

“Busy?”

“Yeah!” 

Kirby moved his body so that he could see through his apartment again. At this point, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and the night sky had completely taken over. He turned to the four there. “You can go, no one’s coming anyways.”

Carrie yawned. “Are you sure? I can try some curry.”

“It’s fine.” Kirby yawned right afterward. “We can hang out tomorrow.”

“If you say so Kirby…” Beadrix muttered, glancing down to the carpet. 

Kirby waved as they all hesitantly left. He rubbed his eyes again, feeling like he should just let himself cry.

No. This was only the second day, of course they wouldn’t warm up eventually. He wasn’t going to let one failure make him as gloomy as everyone else. He had five more days, he can do it. Just because Prince Fluff and the majority of the townies didn’t come to the party, didn’t mean that this would be impossible.

Kirby forced himself to smile, closing the door. If a party wasn’t going to do it, then Kirby would need to think of something even better before the week ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Chapter five! This was written all the way at the end of January, before I even posted chapter one on here. I had no idea people would actually be reading this back then, and I'm shocked on how many hits and kudos I'm seeing! Honestly, it makes me feel so good that people are reading my trash hahhhh sorry this week is filler again. 
> 
> But I'll tell you something, the next chapter is my favorite out of the one's I've written so far. So stay tuned for that!


	6. Chapter 6

That even better idea never came.

Kirby had a feeling it wouldn’t show up immediately, no matter how much he longed for it to be. He didn’t do much when he woke up the day after the party, he only just cleaned up everything he had set up and hung out with his apartment neighbors afterwards. Not too much of an exciting day, and Kirby couldn’t think of anything. 

Kirby tried to create a parade the day after that, and was even able to get Angie and Beadrix to join him. Unfortunately, Dom stopped him before it could actually begin. He spent half an hour getting yelled at by him, with Kirby at least asking if he could see Prince Fluff. That went as well as Marx conquering Dreamland.

Day five of his trip he decided to ask the townsmen themself about what would cheer them up. By the end of the day, all that Kirby got as useful information were blank stares and some people downright ignoring him. 

He got a few legitimate answers, and Kirby had spent all day today dedicated to them. Some were small, like having someone help with chores. Others were things like a certain amount of beads or even a certain meal. But when Kirby attempted them they’d either complain, or thanked him with no happiness in the end. So it ended up failing, just like his party.

Kirby shoved his face into his rather comfortable bed, his feet swinging as he groaned in frustration. It was so late, and he was supposed to leave later tomorrow, that was what he decided with Meta Knight and what he had told Dedede, and just about everyone else he talked to. 

But  _ how _ could he leave already?!

He would never forgive himself to leave everyone this way. 

The puff ball moved his body so that he was facing the rest of the room. The lights had been turned off, so he could only see the neon lights in his name that were stuck on his wall. He remembered it being a gift from Prince Fluff all that time ago, being given to him on his first trip back after he had defeated Yin-Yarn with the prince.

He somehow missed the prince even more here, where he could just see the castle from his apartment, then he did back on Popstar, when he had lost his way to come here. 

He forced himself to turn away and face the wall instead, where the newest addition to the roof was hung; a brightly colored calendar. He had bought it to keep track of time, but now he regretted being able to know 100% surely that tomorrow would make his vacation a week long. He had even crossed out the days before, and wrote in a purple sparkly pen that tomorrow was indeed the day to leave. If only he hadn’t.

Kirby let out a groan again, and sat up from his bed. He would’ve already been asleep by normal standards, and wouldn’t be awake until the sun was high in the sky. He could barely understand why he didn’t even want to close his eyes. 

Maybe it was because he wasn’t ready to give up yet. 

He looked at the calendar, before grabbing a marker. He scribbled something on it, before pushing himself off the bed.

He vowed to cheer everyone up here, and he was going to do that.

Even if he needed to add one more week to his vacation.

He squinted his eyes at his backpack resting right next to the drawer. His phone (which he had found to work after drying out) the world’s magic sock, and the two chocolate bars were still in there. He hadn’t thought about his second gift to Prince Fluff since he had attempted to give it to him at the beginning of his visit.

But now that he thought about it, he decided he might as well try giving them to him again. 

Most would think to wait in the morning, now that he didn’t need to think about leaving, but Kirby instead grabbed the two chocolates and quietly opened the door to outside. Most nights, Kirby would associate the darkness with cold, but the fact that he didn’t shiver once leaving the room comforted him in a weird way. 

It was like the planet himself was encouraging him to do this right now.

He gracefully skipped his way to the big castle, thinking about what he was even supposed to do. Was he really thinking about breaking into a CASTLE?

As someone who  _ definitely  _ hasn’t done that before with another’s castle, he knew that castles were always more heavily guarded when it was night. He would never know for sure if guards were outside the entrance, but Kirby found himself walking to the side of the castle instead. 

Kirby knew that Prince Fluff’s room was at the top of the castle, with a chained big window as big as a door. If he could get to the top of the castle, then he could possibly get the attention of the prince without seeing guards or Dom.

His eyes slightly narrowed as he smiled, summoning his star whip as he glanced to a nearby umbrella that was sort of an entrance to the shop area. He glanced at the chocolate bars themself, before tying his whip around them. He made sure to have them secured near the middle of the whip itself, so that the star bit could still grip onto something else. 

Step 1 was complete.

He turned his body and started to race towards the umbrella stand. Throwing his whip at the umbrella, it successfully latched on, leaving Kirby only hanging for a small amount of time. He forced himself to swing, before letting go when he was at the highest height he could manage.

By the end of it, he got himself face-first into a wall of the castle.

Kirby let his yarn body slowly fall to the ground. He let out a tiny squeak of pain, before forcing himself to stand back up. Maybe he shouldn’t try flinging himself to the top of the castle when he hadn’t done these types of actions in years…

Wasn’t going to stop him from trying again though.

And again.

By the time he was going to attempt it his fifth time, he was starting to wear himself down. But fifth time was the charm! He wrapped the whip around the pole, and swung himself once again. His circular ball form swung from side to side, making the umbrella itself start shifting like it would let loose at one point. Before it could, however, Kirby threw himself in the direction of the castle, with extra force that made him almost drop the whip entirely.

Kirby let himself slowly morph into the form of a parachute, so that he wouldn’t fall down one inch from the goal. He silently cheered as he let go of the form and let the whip grab the ledge of the castle, eventually pulling himself up. 

Great! Success to step 2!

He let his whip disappear, grabbing the chocolates mid air as he walked to the chain window he saw. It was too familiar, but he unfortunately couldn’t see through it. There must’ve been some cotton curtains on the other side.

“Fluff?” He called, knocking on the window. “Flufffffff?”

Nothing but silence replied to him. 

He sighed, placing his circular paw on the side of his face to think. Considering the time, Fluff was most likely asleep, or was just ignoring him. He needed to get his attention somehow.

...And Kirby knew something that often annoyed people on Dreamland.

He smiled, and inhaled before singing at a normal voice to not wake everyone in town. “Hi, my name is Kirby! I like to sing! La la la, I look for an amazing friend! Oooh!”

...Silence.

He just needed to sing more. He twirled around, his hands facking the sky. “La la la! His name is Fluff! Where is he?” His voice wasn’t in pitch to what he was imagining at all, and was even slightly cracking. But did Kirby notice or care?

“La la la! Poy- ya la laaaaa!”

He started to dance, hopping on the roof as his hands twirled from high to the sky to low to the ground. He didn’t sing a lot, but he loved doing it. He didn’t understand why King Dedede said he “was super offkey” and “a sore to ears”. 

“Ooooooooooooh! I long to see his brown eyes-”

“What are you doing?!”

Kirby turned his face to a rather tired looking Prince Fluff, one hand on the half of the window opened and the other rubbing his eyes. Kirby beamed, smiling widely as he started skipping towards him. 

“Do you know what… time it is?!” He spoke, moving his face to let his eyes look at Kirby. He didn’t sound angry, which relieved Kirby. He never liked angry people. He sounded more tired and confused. Definitely was sleeping earlier.

“Of course I know what time it is!” Kirby giggled, bowing to the prince in a rather giggidy way. “It’s the perfect time to sing and dance in the dark. Come ooon, join me!” He twirled on one foot, looking at Prince Fluff with one hand open for him. “Like old times!”

Prince Fluff looked to Kirby, seeming to have fully woken up by now. His rather large eyebrows narrowed a bit, before going back to their neutral expression. Saying that like his eyebrows weren’t always in a narrowed position. “I- uh… I don’t… dance like that anymore.”

Kirby moved slightly closer to the prince’s face, which seemed to make Fluff’s face heat up. Weird, did he eat something spicy before going to bed? Maybe he liked spicy toothpaste. “You don’t? Why not?”

Fluff cleared his throat, stepping back from the excited pink puff ball. “Well… I’ve been working a lot, and I learned how to dance like a royal, so I don’t dance unless it's a special occasion.”

“Dance like a royal?” Kirby tilted his head, moving closer to the other’s face again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Prince Fluff stuttered out a bunch of gibberish, before his own paw slightly pushed Kirby’s face. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?!” He asked, his eyes furrowing into a slight scowl.

“Can’t.”

“...And if I were to leave, you’d start singing again?”

“Uh. Sure! Yep!”

Prince Fluff’s eyes closed for a brief second, his hand on his face. 

“...So what is this ‘dance like a royal’?” Kirby asked, slightly leaning towards Fluff. “Can I see it?”

“Wh-?! No?!” 

Kirby frowned, moving to be in front of the prince. 

“...What I mean is, the royal dance requires two people.” Fluff explained. Heat seemed to still be escaping from his face, maybe he was sick and that’s why he didn’t want to see him… could explain the voice breaking.

“Well,” Kirby pointed to himself, then to Fluff. “We’re two! Come on Fluff it’ll be fun! We’ve danced together before!”

Fluff looked to Kirby, before letting out a sigh mixed with a groan. “As long as you go back to your apartment and sleep after all this.”

Kirby let out a quick, giggling nod. Once he did, Fluff had grabbed the closest hand from Kirby, and gestured for Kirby to give him his second circular hand. Kirby’s smile didn’t fade, but he did tilt his head in confusion. But, he complied. 

Fluff started to slightly lead Kirby away from the window, with Kirby only following. They slowly rotated in a circle, and that was it. Kirby seemed more confused by every minute. This was so… slow. And they were just spinning! What kind of dance was this?

Kirby opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Prince Fluff seemed to be avoiding his gaze, looking only at the ground. Once the prince noticed Kirby staring at him, he looked back at him. Kirby tried to speak again, but nothing came out. He suddenly felt hot, which seemed to make him more conflicted. Was he now getting sick?

“...So this is it?” Kirby asked finally, smiling again. 

Prince Fluff seemed to gaze away. “No…There’s a... yarn spin too.” 

Kirby laughed, hopping a bit. “It’s great!” He leaned forward a bit at the Prince. “After all, you’re here with me for it!”

Prince Fluff’s eyes went wide, and he let go off the dance mid swing, which sent Kirby slightly flying a few steps. Kirby struggled to not fall over, his circles for hands shaking as he stopped himself. 

Kirby slightly laughed again, looking back to Fluff. “Was that the yarn spin?” He asked.

But he didn’t get an answer. Fluff seemed to slightly stare in space, one hand on the side of his face and the other fidgeting with his slightly broken crown. His face seemed to be a slight shade of purple, with a complex amount of emotions in his eyes, that almost looked like they would start crying.

Kirby frowned, running to the blue puffball. “Fluff?”

Fluff shook his head, which made Kirby sigh a bit in relief. For a second, Kirby thought he was going to die. It was definitely a reaction he wasn’t expecting. The puffball got a bit on an idea, and quickly glanced around. He found the two chocolate bars he had dropped while dancing the first time, before going back to the prince.

“Do you want to go now? You look sick…” Kirby asked, frowning a bit as he placed the chocolates in the blue puffball’s hand.

Prince Fluff looked at him, before shaking his head. Laughing, he answered. “Well, no. Now I won’t be able to sleep. Thanks Kirby, your insomnia is contagious.”

Kirby smiled widely. That laugh reminded him so much of the prince before. The prince he stopped Yin-Yarn with. It made him ecstatic, and way more happy than he should’ve been. Even if he didn’t know what insomnia meant. “Well, that’s great! Now we can…”

Kirby blinked, gazing around. Then he nodded to himself. “Now we can watch the stars!” He pointed to the sky, skipping a bit before letting himself sit down. “Look! You can see Popstar!” He pointed directly at it, the planet seeming to be bright like the sun. It made Kirby smile, and imagine how everything was going over there. Most likely nothing… Since Dreamland was now at peace...

For a second, Kirby thought Fluff wasn’t going to follow. But, when he went to turn his head to see if the prince had moved, he was startled to see the prince sitting right next to him. He was holding the chocolates close, and looking at where Kirby was pointing. 

“I used to stare at Popstar a lot… it’s always so big from here.” 

"Big?!" Kirby looked to the Prince. "I could easily hug it whole from here! Popstar is so big that I'm sure King Dedede couldn't fully hug it!"

Prince Fluff let out a laugh again. It was so nice to hear it. “I guess so…”

Kirby looked over to the prince, who was staring at the chocolates. He handed one to Kirby, which made him slightly confused. They were for him! 

“Someone told me a long time ago that it was better to share…” Fluff commented, which made Kirby slightly smile and spoke a tiny thanks.

Kirby ate the entire chocolate within an instance, while Prince Fluff took a bit longer to eat it. Even when they were both done with the chocolate itself, they seemed to fall into a silence afterwards. Kirby only stared at the beautiful stars, smiling as giddy as he was all night. Usually, silent moments would bore Kirby quickly, or make him fall asleep. But, for some reason, now it filled him with a familiar excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time. He wasn’t even sure when the last time he felt it was…

But it was almost, or maybe even better than that excitement for combat he had. 

“Hey… Kirby.” Kirby turned his head to see Fluff staring at him. Kirby yawned slightly, but gave the prince his full attention to let him continue. “It was nice…hanging out with you again. It’s been too long.”

Kirby’s smile widened, and he glanced back at the sky. “It’s nice to be back here for so long… even with it’s changes.”

Fluff frowned, glancing away. “Yeah…”

Kirby didn’t notice, however. “I don’t remember Quilty Square being so… gloomy before. I’ve tried everything I could think of to cheer everyone, including you, up. Even a party…” He frowned for a second, before shaking it off. “But I won’t stop trying, you know?”

When Kirby looked at the prince he noticed how conflicted he looked. Kirby blinked his bright blue eyes. “...Did Dom not tell you about my party?”

Fluff stood up, looking at Kirby. “Let’s go inside… I should’ve let you know about this day one.”

Kirby’s eyes went wide a bit. Not only was that out of nowhere, but Kirby was actually feeling tired by now. “What-”

“Come on.” Fluff started to walk back into the castle, and Kirby quickly got up and followed him.

“Fluff, slow down! Tell me what?”

Fluff led Kirby down the stairs in the castle, looking at only the ground. Kirby glanced at the walls of the castle, the darkness giving them a different vibe. Fluff led the puffball down even lower than the main floor, to which Kirby assumed to be a basement of sort. He felt that similar pulling feeling he felt earlier, which confused him even more.

“It’s not… just Quilty Square.” Fluff responded. “It’s all of Patch Land.”

“All of Patch Land…?” Kirby asked.

“A lot has happened since we both defeated Yin-Yarn, and the citizens thought they could always rely on you. Something happened, and I couldn’t do it on my own.” Fluff explained. “We lost Snow Land due to it…” 

Kirby was about to ask to elaborate, but they had supposedly arrived at their destination. Fluff took a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself, before opening the door with his circular hand. Kirby peeked inside, and soon figured out what was in the room.

It was two, very familiar wooden needles.

Kirby stared at the needles, split between a look with shock and a weird feeling to grab the needles himself. It seemed like the other could read him, because Fluff held the other’s hand very quickly. As Kirby paid attention to the needles, he noticed what was gripping them from running free in the first place; Prince Fluff’s own yarn whip.

“Yin-Yarn’s power… sorta returned three years ago…” Prince Fluff explained when Kirby finally looked back at him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's one of my favorites, it's just really fun to write Kirby being a kid and doing silly things.  
> But wooow. We finally getting bits of answers! And Fluff will finally be a main character! Good for him!


	7. Chapter 7

Kirby had heard crazy things before. 

It was something he grew used to after fighting multiple sources of evil, since he was a toddler.

Yet, he still seemed to be frozen and staring at the prince beside him, not daring to move. Fluff only stared back, as if he knew if he were to speak immediately again, it would make things worse. 

Yin-Yarn. While they’re definitely not the first villain he fought, or even the most dangerous, they did their fair share of damage when their sorcerer illusion was around. Including destroying Patch Land and stripping Kirby of his copy ability. And a villain returning was never good. If what Kirby heard was true, then no wonder everyone seemed sad.

After a few seconds to let that statement sink in, and the memories of what that thing did to pass, Kirby finally spoke again. “But- how? Didn’t the needles lose power when we defeated their form?”

“That’s what I thought too…” Fluff sighed. He took a quick glance at the needles, multiple emotions in his face. He quickly nudged himself out of the room, like he was extremely uncomfortable in the room. Kirby happily followed, considering the pull he felt. Kirby shut the door behind him. “That’s how it had been since we stopped him.”

Kirby watched as Fluff rubbed his eyes. “But something happened one day. Guards started reporting yarn monsters again. Yarn monsters that Yin-Yarn created before.”

“Hey, I saw Angie with the remains of a Uniclod on my second day here...” Kirby commented.

Prince Fluff nodded. “There were very few, so I thought they were older ones that revealed themselves again. But then, the needles showed up again. They tried to completely restore their power again, and in order for that they needed another mortal body. It completely scared everyone, fearing to step out of their homes and possibly get possessed into the next Yin-Yarn.”

Kirby glanced down to the ground. “They summoned armies full of yarn monsters, having them steal every Ravel Ability and Metamortex orbs we had. They even… got my parents. For good this time.” Kirby heard the other’s voice break, and it made him not want to look at the prince even more. “I barely stopped the needles myself, but, as you could see, I had to sacrifice my whip to hold them down. Plus," Kirby glanced up to see Fluffy fidget with his broken crown. "The crown too. We locked all the monsters in Snow Land, but they still are a hassle, and the people who used to live there still aren't happy.”

Kirby forced himself to ask. “Why didn’t you come get me?”

“I originally hoped you’d come first.” Fluff explained. “Even if you hadn’t in years. At first I was too scared to leave my home undefended, even if it was for a few minutes. When I had finally decided to get you… that was when my own sock disappeared.” 

Kirby thought back to the time he said this took place, and how he even showed up. “Oh…”

“Besides, it seemed like you were going through things of your own. That dreamstalk I saw was new during that time.”

Kirby didn’t really pay attention to the last part of what the prince had said. “So… everyone is sad because of me losing my sock, and me not bothering to come back to this world when they needed me.”

Fluff’s eyebrows furrowed. “N-no.” He reached to put his hand on the side of Kirby’s face. “No one here thinks that this is your fault-”

But Kirby only turned and took a few steps forward. Kirby didn’t remember that Fluff was holding his hand until the distance made Fluff let go. “And because everyone is sad because of Yin-Yarn… nothing else is going to cheer them up.”

Fluff blinked his eyes. “Kirby…?”

Kirby turned back to Fluff, with a unique sort of smile. “So we just have to destroy the needles!”

Fluff’s eyes went wide as Kirby continued. “We’ve defeated them before, we could definitely do it again! We just need to find something that can destroy wood here!”

Prince Fluff shook his head a bit. “That’s going to be really hard though. These needles had been around since the beginning of Patch Land, even if they weren’t in use for the majority of it. I’m not sure what could destroy them.”

“Well, you said they had the yarn monsters steal all of the Ravel Abilities.” Kirby was trying his best to think up the best thing they could do. For a hero, he knew he wasn’t the smartest person in Dream Land. That title went to Susie. But something hit him when he spoke that statement. “Yin-Yarn knows you ate a faulty metamatoe and couldn’t use them, so why would they go out of their way to steal them all if I wasn’t here?”

Prince Fluff, at first, seemed upset that his friend brought that up. “Well, what if you did-” But, he stopped. He suddenly echoed Kirby's smile. “...Kirby, I think you’re getting onto something!” 

Kirby beamed, playfully bowing. He let Fluff start to pace, and went silent. Fluff was a lot more educated than Kirby, especially with his own Patch Land culture. He just needed a little push to make a plan… like he always did. Kirby felt his happiness spring even more. 

The Fluff he knew was still there...

“Those Ravel Abilities were made of different compartments, not of yarn. One of those could be strong enough to break the needles!” Fluff then frowned a bit. “But, those are all somewhere in Snow Land, if anywhere. And there are dozens of Yarn Monsters stuck there…”

Kirby motioned towards the two of them. “Yarn Whip or not, I know we could do it!”

Fluff smiled a little. “You sure? After all, Zeke told me you were supposed to be leaving tomorrow…”

Kirby forgot about his original idea, and what he decided before arriving at Fluff's castle. But, the thought of what Patch Land had been going through made him wave his circular hand. “Don’t worry about that!” he had already extended his vacation, so this was perfect for the new schedule.

...He’d just need to make sure to notify his friends at Dreamland at some point.

Before Fluff could respond, Kirby grabbed the other’s hand. “None about that, let’s get going!” His hands started tingling with excitement. He was going to cheer everyone up, and fight some enemies for the first time in years!

Fluff seemed a little unsure, but nodded. “We’ll leave in the morning.”

Morning?!

How could Kirby wait?!

Kirby seemed to pout at that, but ultimately sighed and replied with a “fine”. It was late at night, after all. 

✥✥✥

As soon as Kirby woke up, he forced himself up and out of his little apartment. He would trip over some small felt stones, and even run into walls. It made Beadrix call out to him in concern, but Kirby just continued on to the castle.

He opened the doors to the castle, his smile edging to both sides of his face. He waved at the few Patch Landian guards he passed, even though he knew they’d either fake a smile or stare at him. Which is exactly what happened. 

When Kirby entered the throne room, he saw the familiar figures of Dom talking to Angie. He walked over to the two, waving excitedly. “Hello Dom! Hi Angie!”

Angie tried her best to mirror the happy puffball. “Hello Kirby!” She floated over towards Kirby, her wings fluttering, like she had a reason to be less sad today. “I overheard the prince talking about you all night, I’m assuming you two will be doing something today?”

“Yep!” Kirby giggled. “We’re finally stopping this madness!”

Saying that caused Angie to genuinely smile. “Well, that sounds like a dream…”

“Great…” Kirby turned his head to Dom, who looked just as tired and annoyed as always. “Let me guess, you'll be moving here next then?!”

Kirby laughed, even if the other was being sarcastic. Angie seemed a little confused that it slid past him. “Of course not, Dom! I’m only staying for one more week.” He glanced to the ground for a split second before adding. “But, that doesn’t mean I’d  _ hate _ to live here-”

“Good.” Dom grumbled. He glared at the pink circle before muttering under his breath. “The sooner you leave, the better it’ll be for the prince…”

Kirby blinked, glancing at Angie. The female only made a shrug with her wings, as if she couldn’t explain it either.

"What do you mean-" Kirby started.

“That’s enough out of you, Dom.” Kirby stopped his statement, smiling widely again when he saw the prince himself walking into the room. “Go.” He muttered, surprisingly having a hostile look at the elder.  


“What about the guard training? Hope you didn’t forget about your responsibilities.” 

“I told them that’ll be put on hold for now. Break doesn’t mean I forgot.” 

“Mhm. And what about your other responsibilities?”

" _You_ were the one who decided to have it soon, and tell everyone!" Fluff's eyebrows narrowed. "That's not my problem."

"It's about _you_!"

"Does it look like I care?!"

The two stared at each other silently for what seemed like minutes. Kirby glanced at Angie again, as if he wanted Angie to explain the obvious, even obvious for Kirby, tension here.

“Your guesses are as good as mine.” Angie whispered, shrugging. "I've overheard sock and party multiple times from them, though."

Sock? Party?

Those seemed like completely different things!

Well, Kirby could explain the party. He didn't seem to tell Fluff about his party, after all.

Eventually, Dom turned and left, mumbling under his breath. Fluff looked back to Kirby, that hostile look gone faster than a snap. He smiled again. “You ready to go?”

“Been ready!” Kirby hopped in place, forgetting about the early tension almost instantly. So quickly that Angie glanced to him in confusion.  


“Er," She cleared her throat. "Do you wish for me to escort you to Space Land, your majesty?” Angie asked, bowing her head as Fluff stepped closer to Kirby. 

Fluff shook his head. “That won’t be needed.” 

Angie nodded, waving to Kirby before leaving the room herself. 

Fluff started to leave towards the exit of the castle, and Kirby happily followed. “I never thought Angie would be a guard.” Kirby commented, his smile wide. He was happy for her… until he thought back to what he was told about the night before. “...Is it because of what happened?”

“...Yeah…” 

The two fell into a short silence after that, and Kirby felt slightly conflicted. “And Buster moving to Space Land too?” 

Fluff seemed shocked, and maybe even confused for a moment, before responding. “Uh, sure…”

Silence. Again. 

Fluff seemed to avoid Kirby’s gaze for a little bit, before he began to explain. “People still live in Space Land, however the border between it and Snow Land has been closed off for safety reasons. The rollercoasters can still access the border, and good thing there’s a single one at the edge of Tube Town that can get there, so we’d have to convince the workers in Tube Town to turn that on. Which won’t be an issue.”

Kirby tried his best to pay attention to the plan. 

The prince finally looked back at him. “When we actually get there, it’ll be best to try and sneak by the creatures. They could easily alert the others, and I’m very confident of your abilities, but we don’t want to get ambushed. But, if the time does come, you’ll have to do the fighting. I don’t have my whip, and because of that we won’t be able to split up to spend less time trying to find where they placed the Ravel Ability hats.”

Sounded a little boring, but that worked with Kirby. “So ride a coaster there, fight our way through if needed. Got it!”

Fluff let out a small chuckle as he nodded. “If you think about it, it's kinda like old times, too…”

“Just don’t shake me out of a tree.” 

The two laughed. “That was one time!” Fluff furrowed his eyebrows, but they didn’t stay for long since he was constantly laughing. 

“One time too many.” Kirby giggled, poking the prince on the side of the face. “C’mon, race you to Space Land!” 

“Racing? Kirby, you know me!”

This was how Kirby wanted the beginning of his vacation. Er, minus the yarn monsters and the sadness. He wanted these moments with Fluff. And Fluff acting like this.

But, now that he was awake, he could notice it wasn't complete happiness like himself.

Why was Fluff's energy so similar, but yet different than Zeke's, or Carrie's?

Kirby let himself become a car to speed his way to the border. He heard Fluff behind him do the same, but he had races with Mara last time he was here. And he learned that he couldn't look back if he surely wanted to win. 

But he looked back anyways. He looked back to see Fluff right behind him, his eyes narrowed in a challenging way. Kirby couldn’t seem to look away, only giggling as he continued to take the lead.

Until he tripped over a felt log, and fell over. 

He let out a slight wince, quickly standing up again. By the time he did, he saw Fluff cross the border in front of him. “And his royal highness wins!” Fluff called out, chuckling with each word. 

Kirby couldn’t help but join in. Seeing Fluff so happy made him copy it, but it also made his face hot again. Oh well, if Fluff was easily this happy again, then he would surely cheer the rest of Patch Land up by this little adventure.

The blue puffball sped over to Kirby again, still slightly laughing. “You all right?”

Kirby let out a nod. “Yeah.”

“Didn’t Mara say something about not looking back?” The prince joked as the two began to walk past the border again. 

Kirby only brushed it off. He looked up at the sky, which took on a darker hue compared to the sky in Quilty Square. It was also colder, and the buildings were a lot more futuristic. Just like Space Land was when he was fighting through it. 

Space Land wasn’t a place he visited when around Patch Land, so it was nice to see it again.

He saw a few Patch Landians around, and gladly waved to them. They only stared and whispered, possibly from confusion seeing that the prince was with him. 

Kirby let his hand fall to the side, sighing. “It’s kinda weird seeing their reactions, knowing why they’re like that now…” 

“Don’t let it hurt you too much.” Kirby felt the prince touch the side of his face in an act of comfort. “It’s not because you weren’t here...they’re like that with everyone.”

Like Kirby could believe that.

Fluff moved his hand and looked away a bit awkwardly. “...I’ve missed you, a lot these past few years.” He chuckled out, changing the conversation.  


“Me too…”

The two went silent once again, only enjoying the sights of Space Land and being a little bit awkward. After all... it had been so long...  


“I’m sorry.”

Fluff glanced at Kirby, in slight confusion. “What for?”

“For not showing up.” Kirby giggled nervously. “The sock has been under my bed for so long, and I didn’t bother to check for it.” He frowned. “If I came sooner, you wouldn’t have been alone.”

“Well, it’s not like you were the only one.” Fluff admitted. “I could’ve come to get you.” Fluff shook his head. “It’s not your fault this happened. You were busy, and even if everyone expected you to show up, I understand why you didn’t.” 

Kirby knew that was supposed to be words of encouragement, but he found it not helping by much.

Fluff looked down, and began to speak. “Besides, I still-” but he immediately cut himself off.

Kirby’s blue eyes shifted to the blue puffball, who suddenly seemed to be that shade of purple again. “Still what?”

Fluff laughed. “Nothing!” He pointed ahead. “Besides, we’re at Tube Town now.”

The pink puffball looked ahead, and forgot about the end of the conversation very quickly. The bright familiar surroundings of the blue wires the place was known for made him ecstatic, reminding him what why they were looking for the place. “Oh, well come on!” He started to run ahead, becoming a car once again. 

“Kirby, wait!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof, seems like Kirby's a little off now, after being told the truth? Idk you tell me.
> 
> In all seriousness, I want to wish everyone reading this the best of luck with the you-know-what situation. My school just shut down for a whole month for it, and so are other schools to my knowledge. Stay safe and make sure to wash your hands!


	8. Chapter 8

Kirby ran with Fluff’s instructions, going past all the wires in Tube Town, until he saw the familiar tracks that the majority were in Future City. He gladly stood up to where the signs said to wait, waving his hands from one side to the other in a happy attitude. 

He heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and by the time he turned around he saw Prince Fluff catching his breath behind him. “Ack- I see you still have endless energy…” 

Kirby only giggled. “And I thought you could handle it!”

Prince Fluff rolled his eyes and playfully shoved the pink puffball. “Yeah yeah, it’s been a few years.” He moved so that he was no slightly ahead of Kirby. “Can’t expect me to forever be used to it.”

Kirby let out a gasp. “Oh no! You  _ grew up _ !”

The prince didn’t respond, and the two glanced around the station. Kirby thought there would’ve been more Patch Landians here, but it seemed to make more sense that it was nearly empty. The rest of Tube Town was pretty quiet, too.

Kirby slightly leaned his head to Fluff. “Do you think there’ll be any workers here?”

Prince Fluff’s eyes shifted. “No, there’s gotta be.” His words seemed to be trying to comfort himself more than Kirby. “Just because the border was closed off didn’t make the transports close...”

He began to walk forward, looking behind things like small corners, as if a worker could fit there. Kirby followed, getting a little restless at the searching with no luck. 

“Let’s just take the elevator to the tracks.”

Fluff glanced at him. “That wouldn’t be proper manners though, but I guess we have no other choice.” 

Kirby shrugged and grabbed his hand, leading him to the elevator. He flipped through the door big enough for only one patch landian, and moved over so that Fluff could do the same. The elevator was perfect size, fitting them both with them only colliding at the sides. Like the times he had to take these to find Meta Knight. 

He let go of the Prince, who seemed to almost protest it. Fluff looked a little awkward again, and Kirby just poked him to get him to loosen up. Fluff only chuckled a bit, Kirby being so close that he could feel heat escaping from his face again. 

As the elevator started to reach the top, the two could suddenly hear speaking. The closer they arrived, the more clear it came out to be arguing. Kirby looked to Fluff in confusion, who seemed to be just as confused and still a bit awkward. By the time they had arrived, the words were clear.

“I had to wait two hours just to arrive here! It was supposed to take half an hour!”

“Ma’am, there’s nothing I can do about that but apologize.”

“I don’t WANT your apologies! I want it FIXED!”

“I can’t go into the past, ma’am.”

The female voice let out a scoff, and by the time Kirby and Fluff left the elevator a square Patch Landian shoved by them to take the elevator down. Kirby quickly turned, clearly showing concern. “Wait! I can help y-”

The citizen was already gone, and the one she was yelling at seemed to float toward Fluff. “What brings you here, your majesty?”

“Oh, we need to take the coaster to the border of Snow Land.” Fluff announced, the awkwardness from earlier seeming to have disappeared immediately. Kirby turned back to the one who supposedly worked here, and smiled again. 

“...Are you sure?” the Patch Landian seemed confused, his triangle body spinning a bit.

“Yeah! We’re gonna help everyone with the yarn problems!” Kirby added, waving his circle hands. 

The Patch Landian seemed to hesitate, before shrugging. “If you say so.” He turned and pointed to the track. “Just ride the coaster past two stops, then take the lower one at that station.”

“Thank you!” Kirby beamed, and he gladly stepped over to the still rollercoaster. He hopped on, and saw Prince Fluff follow and sit behind him.

Before long, the transport began to move. The large burst of speed almost sent Kirby flying, but within a few moments it became bearable again. Kirby clenched his eyes shut until he could handle it, but once he did open them again he awed at the views of Space Land that were shone. Even if he had been in this position before. 

As the two got used to the speeds, Kirby turned around to face Fluff. 

“Kirby! Turn back around!” Fluff spoke out. “You might get hurt!”

But the pink puffball didn’t listen. “I’ve been through worse!”

Fluff sighed, and Kirby continued to face him throughout the ride. A couple minutes of silence passed, before the Prince began to speak again. 

“...Well, you know about what’s happened here, what about you? How have things been with you?”

It was obvious the prince was attempting to make small talk, to pass the time. But that didn’t mean Kirby minded about it, friends always tended to catch up during breaks, anyways!

“A lot has happened since I’ve last been here! I helped this guy named Magolor, who almost took over Dreamland. Helped a spider named Taranza, who captured King Dedede. Helped bring color back, and helped stop a robot company!” Kirby explained. 

Fluff nodded, nervously laughing. “You sure help a lot of people…” he then started to think and ask another question. “How has that king friend been anyways? Or you dad? We fought your dad here all that time ago…” 

“They’ve been great!” Kirby nodded. “Dedede has become a way better king, and Meta Knight travels around Popstar to make sure everyone is safe!” he widened his arms as he explained. “It’s funny that you brought up how we fought him here, because he and the king were possessed in my latest adventure as well!”

Kirby remembered that day, while Dedede had been possessed too, he wasn’t as hurt due to it happening before. The fight with Meta Knight was the first time someone was able to take over the knight, and was the one instance Fluff saw Kirby cry, and Kirby made sure to vow to not cry in front of his friend again. He was supposed to be the purest of heart, after all. 

“Right, that fight with Void Termina…right?” Fluff muttered. “I’ve heard very little about it. Mostly because of what happened here.”

Kirby chuckled. “Yeah…” Why did he bring up Void Termina? “That was… a rough one.”

Prince Fluff seemed to notice the tiny tension. “I heard it was the biggest threat yet, but was it really that bad?”

“No.” Kirby shook his head. “It's just more of how things played out… I found out that Void and I were connected somehow. Not sure how, but we are.”

Fluff nodded in response, even if he looked a little lost. 

Kirby shrugged. “I don’t know… I just don’t like thinking about Void Termina. I end up thinking about how that battle could’ve played out. Yeah, it turned out alright, but it could’ve gone way worse. Or maybe I could’ve actually helped Void out, it wasn’t its intention to be evil… it was just because of how it was summoned. And the thought of us two being connected is the worst part…”

It was so easy to talk to Fluff. And Kirby was glad he was telling these thoughts to someone. He hadn’t even told Meta Knight of this. 

However, Fluff seemed a little unsure. “...I don’t know about that.” He sighed. 

Kirby blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t complain about how you wanted to help the thing, then say the connection is the worst aspect. I know you Kirby…and I’ve been around a bunch of liars for a few years.” Fluff explained. “It sounds a lot more to me that the connection is far from why you can’t stand to think about Void. And you’re only saying that to kinda, lie to yourself in a way. No offense.”

Kirby blinked again, completely dumbfounded. He didn’t understand what Fluff was talking about. Fluff was definitely the smarter one of the two, after all. 

The puffball was about to protest, when a loud steam was heard and the ride came to a sudden stop. It went by so fast that Kirby didn’t even fully realize the stop made him leave his seat. He quickly summoned his whip out of instinct, and smiled in relief when he saw Fluff quickly grab it. He gripped onto the whip as Fluff slowly pulled him back up the rollercoaster, groaning with each pull.

When Kirby finally got back up, Fluff slightly narrowed his eyebrows more than the usual. “And this is why you should’ve been sitting properly…” He let out a helpless chuckle. “But the tables had turned. Just need to save you one more time.”

Kirby let out a laugh. But, it was short. He looked around, wondering why they had stopped. The station was nowhere in sight. "Why'd we stop?"  


"No clue..." Fluff shrugged, looking nervous.

“...What are we supposed to do now?”

“Not sure…” Fluff answered honestly. “That other lady complained about waiting a few hours… so guess we wait.”

Kirby groaned. Who knew how long that would take! 

Fluff seemed just as annoyed. “But, we can go over the plan meanwhile. Yeah! That sounds great! What about you, Kirby?”

Kirby didn’t respond. He was only thinking about what Zeke had told him his first day here. He turned to Fluff, smiling. “I have a better idea!”

He looked down to the ground far below him, before intentionally jumping off the rollercoaster.

“KIRBY!?”

The pink puffball morphed his body into a parachute, slowly floating down to the ground of Tube Town. He didn’t expect it to take so long, but eventually he felt close enough to the ground to go back into his normal yarn form, landing swiftly on the ground with his feet, looking straight up at the star lamppost.

He felt someone land beside him, and before he could turn his head he heard Fluff speak. “What was that for?!”

“You said we could be waiting for hours! We can visit Buster while we wait!”

“I- Kirby-!” 

Kirby went into a run, and Fluff was forced to follow. “Kirby! Wait!”

He didn’t know where he was going. But he was going to continue running through the roads of Space Land, until he found who he was looking for. 

It had been so long since he saw Buster! Knowing how everyone else was, he was probably sad too. He needed to tell Buster what he was going to be doing! So that it could help him be happy again! Maybe Buster could even tag along, he must be pretty experienced if he is guarding all of Space Land!

...Even if Space Land is really big…

Fluff probably should've had multiple guards have the job, it seemed like much for one.

Kirby stopped at an intersection, glancing from side to side. Fluff slowly followed behind him. “Can you please just stop and let me-”

But Kirby had already decided to go to the left in the intersection, causing Fluff to call out his name again. This time, he went into a car form again, zooming past confused citizens and almost running into simple objects. 

“Kirby!”

He finally stopped after a while, and within moments Fluff ran right behind him. The blue puffball then stepped in front of the other, his broken crown tilting downward based on the angle the prince was standing at.  


“Kirby we’re already far from the tracks! What if it already left?! This goes against our plans!”

“There’s no harm in seeing Buster, Fluff!” Kirby argued, wondering why his friend was suddenly annoyed. 

“But-”

“Now that I think about it though… I have no idea where he lives!” Kirby realized, before smiling at Fluff. “You know where he lives, right? Can you take me there?”

“No!”

“Why not?” Kirby frowned.

“I- I just  _ can’t _ okay?!” Fluff seemed troubled, and upset. But it didn’t stop Kirby by much.

“Please?” Kirby asked, frowning and trying to make his face as cute as possible. It works with Meta Knight, surely it could here too?

“I-I said no!” Fluff’s face became a shade of purple again, and he turned his head. “We are at risk of harming my plan, so let’s just get back to the tracks and wait. Buster is probably too busy right now.”

But that didn’t convince Kirby. “But we gotta help him! He’s sad like everyone else here!”

Fluff didn’t answer, only facing his face away from Kirby.

“Please, Fluff.” Kirby’s blue eyes started to lower to the ground, seeming to get more sad by the second. “Just this time? For me?”

“...”

Kirby’s eyes closed, and he slightly pouted. “...I guess I’ll... find him eventually.”

But when he was about to leave, he was suddenly stopped by Fluff grabbing his hand. Kirby could’ve easily pulled away, it wasn’t rough at all. And yet, the weak attempt seemed to stop him way more than a forced grab would. 

Kirby turned to Fluff, and was shocked to see a single tear about to fall from the prince’s face. He clearly looked hurt, and Kirby quickly forgot about his last idea.

“Fluff!” He quickly hugged the other, who let out a squeak from shock. “I’m so sorry! I made you cry!”

The prince quickly wiped the tear, trying to pass a laugh. “It’s fine, I’m fine-” That wasn't true, he clearly looked upset and trying to hold back more tears.  


“Was it something I said? I can help!” 

“Kir-”

“We can visit Buster later, we can go back if that’s what you want!”

“K-Kirby-”

Kirby started to wipe away the second and third tears that began forming. “Fluff, please stop crying!” The cry was almost desperate, but he forced himself to keep his own tears in. He wouldn’t cry. That wouldn’t help. He wrapped his arms around Fluff in an attempt to help the boy, hoping it would comfort him enough to stop crying.  


The two seemed to stay there, hugging for a long time. When Prince Fluff finally began to speak, Kirby decided to let go to pay full attention to him again.

“I can’t take you to Buster… because he isn’t here.”

Kirby was about to ask why, when Fluff answered him way before he could. And Kirby wouldn't expect what he said.  


“He… he’s been dead for three years…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand the story takes a turn from here. Not sure if it's better writing wise or not, I just know after this is why I have the "Gonna get angsty later" tag XD.


	9. Chapter 9

Silence.

That was all there was.

Nothing but Kirby and Fluff staring at each other, and no one daring to speak. It wasn’t intentional, at least for Kirby, but he wasn’t sure what to start off with. How was he even supposed to respond to this?!

“But…”

Fluff seemed to wince just at Kirby trying to speak again. 

“Zeke told me… that he lived out here…”

“...Yeah…” Fluff glanced away from the pink puffball. “He and everyone else haven't gotten over it...especially Mara.”

Kirby didn’t respond.

Fluff nervously laughed. “I didn’t exactly… tell you everything back at the castle.”

No kidding.

Fluff took a few moments to breath, before speaking again. “Remember when I said that Yin-Yarn tried to get a new body when their power was restored?”

Kirby subtly nodded.

“... We first found that out because of Buster.” Fluff’s eyebrows shifted slightly, and he looked back to Kirby after so long. “...You see, the yarn monsters were getting out of hand. During this time… Buster started acting weird. He began saying stuff about how he felt Yin-Yarn ‘pulling’ at him… I can’t say I didn’t too but he seemed to feel it worse than me. Then he started having anger problems... snapping at even Mara... then he started assuming things... and then started being way more reckless than usual.”

Kirby stared at his friend, thinking back to that same pull feeling he felt back at the castle… it must’ve been Yin-Yarn's way to get a new form…

“Buster then decided he would try to break the needles himself… to stop that feeling… which ended up with him getting possessed.” Fluff stopped, even if it sounded like he had so much more to say.

The pink hero glanced at a passing rollercoaster, before Fluff continued. “I had to do what was needed… but it ended up costing his life. I was sure possession would’ve been like how you described it, but yanking the needles away seemed to... completely destroy the yarn body as well, instead of unpossessing them like it did with others...” Kirby gripped his eyes shut. "I've felt that feeling even more since then... and I wouldn't let anyone else, not even Dom, be in the same room as that thing... to not risk anything... you were the first other to see them..."  


Silence… again. 

“I’m sorry, Kirby.” Kirby looked back to see Fluff tearing up again. “I should’ve told you earlier...I-I should’ve told you all this when you first arrived. You’re allowed to be mad at me...for everything. Everyone else is...after all.”

Kirby wiped the leaking tears from the prince’s face. He was beginning to understand why Fluff’s gloom aura was different from the others. “What else?”

“...What?”

“What else have you not told me?” Kirby asked, his face still relatively neutral. But, it curved in a little smile after a bit. “It can be anything.”

Fluff seemed to sigh a little bit, before speaking. “Well...Buster was the one who killed my parents…”

Kirby nodded, telling the prince to go on.

Whenever Kirby was upset, and he noticed, King Dedede had this weird tendency to get Kirby to talk about his problems. It always made him feel better in the end, and he hoped this could cheer up Fluff too. Something told him his usual ways to cheer someone up wouldn’t work this time.

And he _needed_ to help him.

His entire body was telling him to.

“My parents and I were never close, but I missed them when they were captured by Yin-Yarn...I-I miss them now… Mara doesn’t trust me anymore… She and Buster were really close…” Fluff sniffed. “Dom expected me to forget about you… stop talking about you… and become a responsible king. But... I couldn’t.” 

Kirby slightly frowned again, feeling worse about not showing up here during all of this. The fact his insides began to hurt didn’t help.

“The truth is Kirby… I l-... I really look up to you.” Kirby looked up to feel that weird heat again. But, this time, he was unsure about where it was coming from. He only knew that he stopped thinking about that pain when he felt it. “I understood you wouldn’t be here, and you first taught me to use a whip as a weapon. I wanted to have my land look up to me like they did for you... like how I look up to you.” Fluff clenched his eyes shut. “But all I did was mess up all my plans and make everyone scared and s-sad-”

As the prince continued to cry, Kirby couldn’t handle it anymore and hugged the prince again. 

“Fluff…” Kirby was surprised he was able to keep his tears in still. 

“I didn’t want you to see me when you showed up...I thought you would’ve been disappointed…”

Kirby let go, looking straight into Fluff’s brown eyes. “Disappointed?”

Fluff seemed confused. “... You aren't? You aren't mad that I lied to you?”

“Of course not!” Kirby smiled widely. “Fluff, I consider you to be my closest friend I don’t see as family. I may not be smart, but I can tell you only lied about Buster because it hurts… I would be lying if I didn’t say it’s sad knowing Buster isn’t here…” He stood up, not even fully realizing he was sitting in the first place, and lended Prince Fluff a hand to stand up too. “Besides, I’ve dealt with way worse lies.”

“...That doesn’t sound as comforting as you make it out to be...”

Kirby only smiled widely, and started to walk back the way they came. “Well, we should probably get back to the ride. Continue your plan, right?” He giggled, trying to lighten up the situation even more. 

“...You sure you’re not upset? I feel like you’re taking this too well.”

Kirby looked at the unsure prince, and grabbed his hand in a show of comfort. “Everyone makes mistakes Fluff. I made way too many starting out. Sometimes, you just gotta admit the past happened, and move on, you know?” he looked up to the buildings, and the posters littered around he didn’t bother to read. “As long as you help the situation, then you’re never not doing the right thing.”

“...That’s surprisingly wise, Kirby.”

Kirby faked a gasp. “What, you saying I can’t be wise?”

“N-no! You’re wise when you want to be- it’s just. Shocking.” Fluff smiled. “Thanks, Kirby. I needed that.”

Kirby smiled back, feeling that weird heat through his whole body. He didn’t have the heat copy ability, he wasn’t sick, what gives?!

“That’s why I’m here.” The puffball began to skip ahead. “Now, come on! Let’s get back to the coaster.”

“...Yeah.” Fluff seemed to still be worried about something, but he smiled again. “Right behind you.”

✥✥✥

"Where is it?!”

Fluff turned to Kirby as he pulled himself onto the tracks. “I could’ve sworn I jumped off right here!”

“...You sure it wasn’t somewhere else?”

“No…” Kirby placed his hand on the side of himself, his face sort of pouting. “I remembered seeing that clump of posters. And that lamppost!”

Fluff blinked. “But those are everywhere-”

Kirby let out a small groan. “Okay, yeah. I’m lost.”

“Nice…” Fluff sighed. “More to put against my plans, good job Kirby.”

“No! I got this!” Kirby circled around in one place, thinking. “What direction is the next station?”

Fluff looked up to the sky as he thought. He then pointed his circular hand to the south of Kirby. “Each border is to the east.”

“So let’s just follow the tracks to the station!” 

“...Guess that’s all we could do now.”

“And because you don’t have as much energy.” Kirby summoned his whip, grabbing Fluff’s hand. 

“Kir-”

Once he knew the whip was secure, he morphed into a car and drove on the tracks, speeding his way to the next station.

“KIRBY-!!!”

The pink puffball heard his friend yell, but he continued to drive along the tracks. Luckily, it seemed to be that they weren’t far from the station, because it only seemed like half an hour that Kirby’s bright blue eyes caught the familiar structure of the train station. Getting closer, he even saw a roller coaster that stopped right next to it.

Most likely it was the one they were previously riding on.

He jumped as best he could to get over the roller coaster, before stopping. He turned to Fluff, who seemed a little shaken up. Which made sense, he had been crying earlier and then had been attached to Kirby’s whip. 

Kirby helped the prince up, who seemed to heat up again at the closeness. “Sorry about that.”

The blue prince nodded, smiling slightly. “Well, we’re here now.”

Kirby looked up to see another Patch Landian, presumably the one who worked at the station. “What’s the hero of the galaxies and his majesty doing all the way here?”

The hero himself decided to answer for Fluff. “We wish to get to the border! We need to get to the third stop or something!”

He thought this worker would be hesitant like the other, but this one didn’t seem to care that much. “Oh. Okay. Right this way.”

The two followed the Patch Landian to the next cart, who went over to the controls.

“Just hop in, and yeah.”

Kirby let Fluff go in first, and sat in front of him again. And they were off again. The two were quiet as they slowly got used to the speeds again, and Kirby turned to face the prince again.

“Did you not learn from last time?” Fluff asked, chuckling slightly.

“Nope!”

Fluff tilted his head slightly.

Kirby looked up to the sky, which didn’t look much different from before. It did look slightly darker, but Kirby wasn’t able to notice until he had stared for a few moments.

“See? We aren’t too far behind schedule!”

The prince chuckled again. “Yeah… but we probably won’t get to the border until a lot later than I anticipated.”

Kirby shrugged. 

Fluff went quiet again, which led to Kirby speaking. “You doing okay now?”

“You could say that.” Fluff leaned forward a bit. “It does feel better to have talked about everything, or most of everything.”

The two stared at each other for a few moments, until Kirby responded. “Yeah.”

Fluff’s face seemed to heat up, rubbing one of his eyes. “Thanks, again. For that.”

“It was nothing, you’re my best friend. I’d love to help.”

“...Yeah, but it’s okay to admit something can’t be helped.”

Kirby blinked.

“...You know that, right?”

Kirby laughed, he didn’t know what Fluff was talking about. “Yeah.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Kirby…”

“Kirby!”

Kirby opened his eyes to immediately see Fluff’s brown eyes. He felt a tiny bit awkward, but luckily, Fluff moved away when he saw Kirby wake up, looking away instantly. The other seemed just as awkward, and it only confused Kirby a bit.

He had a lot of questions since this vacation, and only few were actually answered.

“We’re at our destination.” Fluff explained, smiling a little. “Come on, the border isn’t too far ahead.”

Kirby hopped out of the ride he was curled up in, skipping a bit around the prince. “How long was I asleep?”

“Not too long.” Fluff chuckled, before his face turned a little more serious. “You fell asleep a little after the ride started. You didn’t interrupt my plans at all for once, by the way.”

Kirby glanced up at the ceiling. “You and your plans… gotta love your enthusiasm!”

He started to walk away, hearing Fluff stutter out a “t-thanks?”

Fluff moved so that he was now walking next to the other. He cleared his throat. “You... ready for the cold?” He asked, yawning in the middle of his statement.

It caused Kirby to yawn right back. It was obvious that Fluff didn’t sleep on the ride. 

“Yep!” Kirby beamed. “I haven’t fought something in a year! And I’m helping everyone by doing so!”

“Right…”

Kirby patted the side of the other’s face, hopping across a big space of air. “Lighten up, Fluff! We got this!” He was growing more excited by every mention of what was coming. He hadn’t felt this excitement in so long, and it was amazing to feel again.

Fluff seemed awkward at the other’s touch, and even if he smiled and nodded, he didn’t seem to let go of the feeling.

Kirby noticed the big wall that seemed to have been built within a strict deadline. He could see how some yarn monsters were able to get out of it. 

As the two climbed over the wall and pranced their way to the border, Kirby began to notice Fluff’s gaze. Especially when Kirby felt that ice cold snow hit his feet. When he looked over to Fluff to make a joke about their last adventure with the Snow Land, he stopped. Fluff’s eyes were filled with that same grief he saw his first day here, and they seemed to echo the many thoughts he was having. Kirby frowned, he knew Fluff was someone who tended to overthink. Sure, he wasn’t as anxious and socially awkward as Taranza, but when he over thought that’s when he began to look that way. Kirby knew that’s why he loved talking about and thinking up plans. 

But they had a plan, so the fact he was still worried made Kirby upset.

He vowed to help everyone here.

...And his insides seemed to like hurting when he saw his best friend upset.

Kirby quickly grabbed a handful of cotton snow, and threw it at the prince. Said prince let out a small squeak in surprise, toppling over into the snow. The snow swallowed him up, leaving Kirby to only see one hand of his sticking out.

Fluff’s head popped out of the snow, suddenly looking a little challenged. “What was that for?!”

“Bet you can’t get me back!” Kirby playfully giggled, jumping off and running down the hills of Snow Land. 

He let out a laugh as he felt a handful of snow thrown on his back, causing him to fall on the ground, slightly rolling down the hill until he was near the bottom.

“What was that about me not being able to get revenge?” Fluff asked, skipping over to Kirby, and triumply posing near him, chuckling a bit. 

Kirby took the opportunity to summon his whip and use it to grab Fluff’s closest foot and make him fall over too. 

The two laughed, and Fluff playfully shoved the pink puffball. “You’re such a child!”

“You are too!”

They seemed to laugh forever, and even when they stopped Kirby wasn’t done messing around. Because he stood up, pushed more snow on the other before running off again. “Can’t get me a second time!”

He hopped up another snowy field, only to find the part it led to to be completely ice instead. He wasn’t able to slow down in time, which caused him to slip on the ice and fall over again. But he didn’t care, because he saw Fluff ahead, still laughing. 

Fluff took notice of the ice as he slid down next to Kirby. “You fall down a lot.”

Kirby didn’t react much to the statement, only glancing around at the surroundings. As far as he could see were ice, some bits had melted but that was very few. He had been here before, but he had traveled through it in another form. “Frigid Fjords…”

Fluff looked at the same views. “...Honestly, I would’ve expected to see some yarn monsters by now…”

“Yeah…” Kirby sighed, remembering why they were here. 

“Let’s be prepared, there could easily be one around the corner.”

Kirby nodded, smirking again as he summoned the whip in advance. He was ready to fight bad guys again. Ready enough to kinda take off to the top of the nearest ice hill. He made sure not to slip this time, but there were a few times that he almost did. 

Once he got up towards the tip of the hill, he smiled to see a Dandan curled up on the ice below him. It shivered slightly, which made Kirby almost loosen up. For a thing with no mind of its own and it’s only purpose to wreak havoc, it looked so peaceful…

Sad that it couldn’t be helped.

As soon as he stepped closer and gripped his whip, he felt Fluff try and hold him back. “This one isn’t hostile yet… probably would be best to continue looking for those ravel abilities.” the blue puffball whispered. Kirby was surprised the other could read his mind

Kirby nodded. As much as he missed fighting, he had a feeling sneaking away would be better for now. It wasn’t like they could interrogate the creature. 

So he quietly stepped around the Dandan, holding his star whip close with him. Once they were a good distance away, he began looking around again. Now that they had seen one, there seemed to be hundreds of Yin-Yarn’s creations around. But, most of them were sleeping, or too far away for them to notice the two spy wannabes. 

Kirby turned to his dear friend. “So, where should we start searching?”

“No clue.” Fluff admitted. He went silent to think, before he got an idea. “...If we’re in Frigid Fjords now, Mt. Slide is not too far from here. We can search there, and it’ll give us enough escalation to see if there’s a suspicious crowd of yarn monsters guarding something.”

“Great!” Mt. Slide was a fun place, full of places to sled. Even if they couldn’t do that right now… He bowed, giggling. “Lead the way, your majesty~!” He basically sang out.

Fluff rolled his eyes, before turning to the east and walking that way. Kirby happily followed, waving to the sleeping enemies, even if they couldn’t see it. 

As they snuck their way towards the large mountain, the pink puffball began to notice that it was beginning to snow. He smiled in awe as flecks of snow littered the ice around them, and even landed on Kirby’s forehead. 

“It’s always amazing to look at snow…” he commented.

Fluff looked at the snow, wiping a few flakes that would land near his eyes. “I guess so…” he shrugged, smiling a bit afterwards. “But, I can think of more amazing things to look at…” But Fluff seemed to regret saying that the moment he did.

“Really? What’s that?”

Kirby saw his face go purple again, and he tried to speak. “Uh…” was the only clear english Kirby heard come out of Fluff. 

Kirby titled his head in slight confusion. He didn’t understand why the prince now seemed as awkward as Taranza, and so suddenly, too. He wasn’t overthinking… or at least, he didn’t look that way.

“Well...uh…”

Kirby nodded, smiling.

“Er…”

Fluff seemed like he didn’t want to say it at first, but seeing Kirby’s smile, the prince had a feeling he’d have to say it.

“I...you’re...amazing to look at.”

Kirby certainly didn’t expect that. He blinked, feeling his face grow hot again. Which, again, gave him so many questions. This time, it was more along why this feeling was here to begin with. The more it happened… the more it felt familiar to him, but he couldn’t place where…

He somehow felt ecstatic too. Which made him beam when he went to speak. “Aww, you’re an amazing friend too, Fluff!”

Fluff’s eyebrows scrunched up, almost as if he was in pain. “That’s not what I- ...actually, y-yeah that’s totally what I meant...thanks.”

Kirby giggled, a little confused by his reaction. But he instantly forgot about it when he heard that familiar sound of something getting fired up…

“Get down!” he quickly shoved Fluff away from an incoming energy blast, instinctively grabbing the blast with his whip and throwing it where it came from. He took notice that he was definitely out of practice with this fighting style, because his throw was weak and slightly off his target. He let out a small, icy breath as a Dandan dodged his move, narrowing its button eyes at the intruders. 

Kirby got into a fighting position, eyes fully focused on the angry Dandan in front of him. 

“Uh...Kirby…”

Kirby turned to look at the prince, who was staring ahead at two more Dandans, and a single Cyclod. All were ready to attack. Kirby narrowed his own blue eyes.

All three Dandans charged and fired their blasts at the same time, and the two puffballs did their best to dodge all three of them. Kirby grabbed one of the blasts and threw it back at the first Dandan again. This time, he was able to hit the enemy and its yarn immediately came apart. 

He missed this. This thrill of action… but it wasn’t the same as before...

He looked to his left to dodge in the nick of time from a Cyclod running at him. He saw other enemies beginning to arrive, making Kirby think back to the whole “ambushing” Fluff was worried about. 

Wait. _Fluff_!

He needed to protect him! He doesn’t have his whip! He needed to help him!

Kirby quickly looked around, dodging multiple other blasts. He finally laid eyes on the prince, and he stopped in his tracks seeing he was doing...just fine. He even transformed himself into a weight to crush one of the Dandans. It gave Kirby a bit of relief, even without his whip Fluff was still fighting...

Kirby smiled, before feeling a sharp pain in his side, which temporarily loosened up his own body. He turned to the now laughing Cyclod, before unravelling the being. 

As the remains of the cyclod fell to the ground, he saw other Dandans charging blasts at him, and he once again dodged them and fired back. He smiled even wider when he saw Fluff help take out the rest of them. 

Kirby giggled, seeing the enemies begin to see they were outmatched. “I can do this all day!” He called out, not knowing the full meaning to it. 

The enemies glanced at each other before turning and running the other way, which made Kirby let his whip finally disappear. 

He let himself catch his breath, but it couldn’t for long, because Fluff quickly grabbed his hand and started to run towards their goal again. 

“Fluff!” 

He let go of the hand and started to run with him, dodging multiple icicles when they started to go through caves. It wasn’t long until Kirby recognised the series of hills, and the biggest one of all, Mt. Slide. Fluff quickly stopped, pointing at a high enough slope for nothing to follow. Kirby nodded, using his whip to attach to a nearby spring tree, and once he had Fluff’s nub secured in his own, he quickly swung them both onto the platform. 

Kirby exhaled again, finally able to rest. He forgot with the thrill of fighting, the tiredness quickly would follow. It didn’t help that Kirby was, once again, out of practice. 

Fluff groaned. “I didn’t think we’d immediately get ambushed.”

Kirby looked to the other, and noticed he was definitely limping the whole run here. Kirby quickly made the prince sit down, cuddling right next to him as the snow began to sprinkle on top of them again.

“Are you okay?!”

“Yeah… just got hit by a blast.” Fluff nervously laughed, getting warm from the closeness. “We both haven’t done this in a long time…”

Kirby slightly nodded. Good thing their species was known for healing really fast. 

Fluff sighed, leaning back on Kirby for a bit of support, staring at the sky. “Perfect delay for my plans…”

“Hey, we got to Mt. Slide!” Kirby reassured. He patted the prince’s back. “We still have time to find the ravel abilities! Plus, now we can see a lot more of Snow Land!” he turned his head and peered over the slope, seeing Frigid Fjords so far down from them.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Fluff forced a chuckle. “Things could be worse… we could be stuck in Hot Land.”

Kirby laughed. “See?”

Fluff laughed along, but was interrupted by a small yawn. “Even worse than that, we could’ve been attacked by Hot Wings instead of common enemies.”

Kirby let out a yawn as well. “Hot Wings is still alive?”

“She wasn’t a creation of Yin-Yarn… so wasn’t Fangora, Squashini, or Capamari.” Fluff explained, seeming more tired in his wording. “They’ve always been around, funny enough Hot Wings is the only semi-hostile one…” Kirby blinked at that response. “Didn’t I already tell you this?”

Kirby stared straight ahead. “...Probably.”

The two had gone silent for a bit as Kirby looked back down to the rest of Snow Land. He saw multiple yarn monsters that seemed to be searching for the two, with no luck. That was going to make their sneaking a lot more difficult. “Well, at least we aren't dealing with her...” he finally spoke up. “Does that mean that the other three don’t like her?”

When he turned his head back to the prince, Kirby saw that he had fallen asleep against the pink puffball. Kirby smiled softly, feeling himself getting really warm again. And somewhat happy, in a weird way. He took a quick glance to the chipped crown stitched on his head, his smile fading at that moment.

...He was going to help him. He was going to help everyone here…

Maybe then he could actually stop thinking about Void when this was all over.

He was going to help them all, no matter what. He wouldn’t know what he’d do with himself if he couldn’t.

He moved his gaze from Fluff’s crown to his face. The prince for once, looked at peace. It made Kirby smile again, wider than it was before. He had a lot of questions still, a lot of weird thoughts, and even if some were about the prince himself, he couldn’t seem to decide what to believe about it. Maybe he could talk to Meta Knight about it at some point. 

Kirby yawned once again, feeling himself getting tired again, now that the adrenaline had left him. Even with the happiness he had by being with the prince, he felt himself get worn down enough to feel his eyes drooping.

He let himself close his eyes. Guess this was the perfect time to catch up on that nap he was having earlier. He let out one more yawn, before he dozed off into a slumber.

Sleeping soundly, with the prince as the only source of warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, halfway through this story! Honestly this chapter's one of my favorites.  
> Seeing as what stuff happens in later chapters, it's nice to just have the boys having fun.


	11. Chapter 11

Surprisingly, Kirby was the first to wake up out of the two.

Kirby tended to sleep until noon, and he was sure the prince woke up way earlier any day. It made him a bit sadder, seeing that it was a pretty obvious clue to show that the prince wasn’t sleeping that much.

He knew that too well. After all, he had lost sleep for the first few months after the events of Void Termina.

The pink puffball stretched his body before glancing over the ledge they laid on. He caught glimpses of multiple monsters running through the fields. However, it wasn’t much. They seemed to all be somewhere else…

...Weird, they knew that Kirby and Fluff were here…

Kirby expected them all to be out.

Well, Kirby could take advantage of the situation. He could find some food!

Kirby jumped off the cliff, taking off down Mt. Slide. He knew Patch Land had apple trees littered all throughout the lands, and Snow Land was no exception. Plus, Kirby had a good idea where to find where Snow Land kept theirs.

It was going to be great, the prince waking up to something to eat! Kirby knew that always put him in a good mood.

So, he quickly ran up north of the mountain. He found that to be a horrible idea, for he was attacked by multiple yarn monsters the moment he exposed himself through the fields. But, it wasn’t the worst that happened to him. Kirby had been fighting bad guys for ages now, and no break could change that. It didn’t take him too long to scare the monsters off and reach the said apple tree.

And to see that there were no apples in sight.

Kirby jumped up to the tree, using the closest branch to swing himself near the top of the tree. Despite Kirby’s common belief, the leaves still stayed intact during the cold weather, and it still slightly resembles a christmas tree, like the trees here used to be famous for doing. But it was clearly unhealthy, and had been mistreated. 

The monsters here must’ve eaten all the apples while hurting the tree in the process. 

Kirby let out a small sigh. He couldn’t help but be dissapointed, even if a small part of him told him he shouldn’t have been surprised. 

He was about to hop down, when he heard footsteps shuffling in the snow beneath him. His hopes went high for a second. Did Fluff have the same idea as him?

Before he could properly ask out who it was, the tree itself began to shake, and pretty violently too. Kirby could only grip onto the branch in reaction. It got to the point that he started hugging the tree to not fall down. Luckily, it didn’t seem to be forever, and it stopped before long.

Kirby let go of the branch and was about to ask what that was for, until he saw it was a Cyclod. It seemed angry to not get anything from the tree, and shuffled off in an outraged manner. Kirby only watched the yarn monster walk off, slightly feeling bad for these creatures once again.

They had no will. 

They couldn’t be helped, no matter how badly Kirby thought about it.

Besides, they caused Fluff’s distress.

Kirby reminded himself that last thought, which made his eyes slightly narrow, and he decided to finally jump off the tree once the enemy was gone. He watched the Cyclod walk to a crowd of other yarn monsters, who all took off in a specific direction. Kirby couldn’t tell what exactly they were heading to, but the fact they seemed to be looking for something and also rushing, it seemed a little confusing.

He quickly jumped down the tree, turning and running through the snow. He ran back to the direction of Mt. Slide, waving his arms in almost an instinct. 

✥✥✥

“FLUFF!”

Kirby started calling out the name of his best friend the moment he started arriving at the area they had camped for the night. He even hopped to get his voice heard even farther. He narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance, and instead of swinging onto the cliff like others would, he started to sing.

“Ooooooooo I’ll travel the world for Fluffu~!”

“Kirby, please.” Kirby's smile edged his face when he saw the prince’s face peak from the cliff top. Even from the distance, the Fluff’s shifted hue was highly noticeable. “I heard you the first time.” He jumped down, landing right next to the pink puffball. The quick landing made some snow fly in the air, some even falling on Kirby himself. 

Kirby giggled, wiping the snow off him.

“Where were you?” Prince Fluff asked, eyebrows slightly furrowing. “I got worried for a moment.”

“Well,” Kirby nuzzled close to the other in a giddy manor. “I wanted to get you an apple before we decided on the first location to look at!”

“...Aw, that’s actually really sweet of you-”

“But I found out that there were no more apples!” Kirby frowned slightly. “The monsters took them all!” however, the thought of what he saw recently made the frown vanish. “I saw some monsters acting suspicious on the way back here, though!”

Fluff took that into consideration, stepping a little closer to the edge of the platform they were on. He looked over, and pointed. “Like that?”

Kirby followed after the prince and saw what he was pointing to; a herd of yarn monsters all trying to rush into a building at the same time, far away from where the two boys were now. Kirby recognized the shape of that building immediately, for he remembered seeing and visiting multiple buildings like it all that time ago. 

“Hey, those are the Cozy Cabins!” Kirby called out.

Fluff nodded. “I think that’s exactly where they’re hiding what we’re looking for!”

Kirby was very excited. “That’s where we’re going to look?”

“Exactly.”

Kirby chuckled, stepping away from the ledge. “Let’s get going then! Patch Land isn’t going to help itself!” And he began to start skipping down the hill tops again, with the prince happily following.

As the two left the large mountain and entered the fields that surrounded the lands, they stopped their running and started to sneak their way around. Even with the majority of the yarn monsters preoccupied, some still were running around instead. 

It made their way of travel take much more time, and made Kirby a bit more impatient.

How were they going to help everyone at this rate?!

Before long, they had gotten to a point where the population of yarn monsters increased. Fluff and Kirby hid behind a large statue to hide from monsters, and that was when Kirby was once again faced with the damage that happened when he was away. The snowman statue he had once helped rebuild, and the area he had fought a possessed Dedede at, was now nothing but a mess of cotton. Something the yarn monsters destroyed for fun. Not only that, but the christmas trees once the same size of the statue were harmed as well.

Kirby glanced to Fluff, who looked just as hurt. 

“Wow.” Fluff slightly chuckled, one nub being placed on his head next to the golden broken crown. “Kinda rubs salt in the wound, doesn’t it?”

Kirby didn’t respond, only looking ahead at all the monsters. He stared a bit, feeling a weird rage that seemed to ignite then diminish within seconds. He forgot about it quickly before looking back at the prince. Fluff’s clear face made Kirby’s insides ache with pain again. 

Glancing from side to side, he settled on a familiar sight past the dead christmas trees. In the air within reach of a tree, was a familiar air shaft. He smiled slightly, before speaking. “Going through the entrance unnoticed would be hard, why don’t we take the familiar entrance?”

Fluff took notice of what he was talking about, and the worried look turned to a more challenged way. “Good idea, Kirby!”

The two sprinted towards it, Kirby of course being the only one who could fling the two up to the shaft. Once he helped Fluff get up, he flung himself up as well, letting his whip fade away the moment he landed up there.

He was surprised to see the air shaft still blowing air straight up to the sky, even after all this time. But, it worked for them. 

Fluff and Kirby both transformed into a parachute at the same time, letting the low current of air push them up to the rooftop. Kirby remembered this air shaft trip being… faster last time. It made him impatient again. 

The moment they landed on the rooftop, Kirby jumped through the chimney on top. Fluff followed after the eager puffball, both landing at the bottom of the fireplace, which was gladly not lit up with flames. 

It was never good to play with fire.

Kirby exited the fireplace, and waited for Fluff to do the exact same thing. 

“Alright… So the plan.” Fluff whispered. “Do this silently and sneakily.”

Kirby only moved certain blocks out of the way as quietly as he could. Multiple yarn monsters were curled up in the rooms below them. Some even laid in the revealed spikes that were part of the building’s foundation.

Sliding down a nearby staircase, they began to search around for any Ravel Ability hats, or even some Metamortex orbs. But there seemed to be nothing but yarn monsters all around the place.

Kirby couldn’t help but glance over to the prince every few minutes. And it seemed like every time he did, the other looked more and more anxious. 

He was starting to overthink…

Kirby used a nearby draft of air to lift himself away from some sleeping Dandans. As Kirby landed on the third floor of the building, he was starting to get way too restless. Where are the hats?! There were nothing but thousands of monsters!

Fluff seemed to have the same questions. “At this rate, we’ll never find them!”

Kirby didn’t even react to the prince slightly raising his voice. He needed to be hopeful.

It was here somewhere!

They just haven’t found it yet!

Yeah!

Kirby let his smile form again as he thought that. Yeah, it was going to be fine!

Until he heard Fluff let out a sigh. “If we don’t find these hats before the enemies chase us out… we’d basically be back at square one…There's no where else they'd hide them.”

Back at…

...Square one?

Those words echoed in Kirby’s mind a bit. He had a good idea what ‘square one’ meant, and if this plan didn’t work out they would have no further ideas about how to break Yin-Yarn. And that bothered him way more than Fluff expected.

How could he help everyone if they had no more ideas?!

...

No…

This idea  _ WAS _ going to work!

He can help  _ EVERYONE _ as long as he tries  _ HARDER _ .

Instinctively, Kirby jumped down at the hoarding group of monsters, unraveling the first one his whip could reach. He heard Fluff squeak in shock, but that didn’t stop him from glaring at the other beasts, that began to notice the hero’s presence.

Fight them…

_ Destroy  _ them if you want to help…

That was a thought Kirby didn’t even remember creating, sure he liked fighting… but he never thought about  _ killing _ . But, he went with the urge as multiple Dandans began to fire at Kirby, and a Cyclod let out a loud scream, to possibly get back up to join them.

“I vowed to help this world.” Kirby whispered, throwing beams at the others. “I’m not going back to square one!”

“Kirby!”

More and more enemies began to rush into the small room, that Kirby didn’t seem to mind at first. He just continued to reflect beams and dodged other attacks. He saw Fluff hop next to him. 

“Kirby, what are you doing?!” Fluff whispered, moving away from a cyclod. “This wasn’t the plan!”

Kirby didn’t respond, seeming too focused on the enemies themselves. He was going to help everyone. He was going to help everyone. He was going to help everyone.

“Kirby!”

“Take THAT!” Kirby yelled out, pushing multiple monsters back with the remains of another. His sparkling blue eyes showed no shine of joy that it was common to have, which seemed to paranoy the prince even more.

“Kirby!”

The hero turned to the prince, who looked slightly worried. That was when Kirby finally seemed to snap out of it. His eyes blinked, and he quickly took notice of what he did.

...He really let his anger get the best of him, in front of Fluff no less…

Did he not learn from the cake incident?!

He thought he was over that...

“Fluff…” He muttered. But he didn’t have much time to say anything else. He took notice of a falling spiked ball, and quickly grabbed Fluff’s hand and rushed away.

Kirby turned his attention above his head and closer to the roof of the building, and his frown seemed to get worse. He saw the familiar purple circular body, spikey red wings, and the one button eye filled with hatred and bloodlust. It let out a high pitched demonic laugh, and even if it wasn’t as bad as others he heard, Kirby couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Oh sweet cotton…” Fluff swore underneath his breath.

Kirby couldn’t help but feel worse. His anger had put Fluff in danger’s way. How was that going to help him?!

He booked away from the angry enemies and Me-Devil, making sure to keep one eye on the prince following him. They exited through the wide door frame just before it would've gotten infested by the mindless monsters.

The two quickly entered the nearest mit house, only to immediately dodge from a sparkly arrow. Kirby glared at the triangular body of We-Devil, which let out a similar laugh to Me-Devil. Kirby could only grab a nearby object and try to throw it at her. He wasn’t able to see if he hit her, because it seemed that yarn monsters began to ambush them from each side.

Usually, this wouldn’t be too bad.

If he still could use his inhale ability or had used this whip ability more often beforehand.

Why did he reveal himself again!?

Kirby glanced around quickly, before Fluff quickly notioned to a pathway that was guarded by yarn monsters. But, it was one of the only areas that still seemed to have a door. 

Fluff led the way, shoving past attacks very quickly. Kirby followed just as fast, and shoved the door closed just as Ye-Devil was about to ram his way to them. The impact of both made a large bang.

Kirby let out a small sigh, leaning against the door to try his best to keep it shut. He wasn’t too used to escaping from villains, and having it a second time was a surprise. 

He giggled and was about to say a joke to lighten up the mood, when Fluff moved a box in front of the door. Kirby wasn’t even able to open his mouth before the slightly older prince turned to him in 100% frustration. “What was  _ that!? _ ”

Kirby stepped back, his smile going to neutral. 

“It’s like you  _ want _ to mess up my plans!” Fluff shouted. “What is going on with you?!”

Kirby gazed to the floor. “...Sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to fix my plans!” Fluff protested. He let out a groan, putting his hands above his eyes.

“I hadn’t acted that way in… a long time.” Kirby responded. He couldn’t help but feel that awful ache again. “I guess I just… got angry.”

He was still angry… but more at himself.

How could he act that way in front of his friend?!

He was supposed to be pure of heart!

Fluff went silent for a bit, before he sighed. “I can’t stay mad at your face...” He looked at Kirby, before he began to walk ahead through the hallway. “Besides, I’d probably follow you even if you had the dumbest idea in the world.”

Kirby had no choice to follow, not sure if what Fluff said was a joke or serious.

The hallway was dark, and didn’t seem to be similar to the other rooms in the Cozy Cabins. That was mostly because it was almost completely dark here. It didn’t help that it was silent between him and the prince.

It seemed like moments before Fluff responded. “...You sure you’re okay? I feel like you’ve been off since I told you about Buster…” The prince corrected himself almost instantly. “Actually, since I showed you Yin-Yarn.”

Kirby's smile came back, but rather weak since he was still recovering from his best friend getting frustrated. “I’m here to help you, not me! I’m fine Fluff!”

Fluff didn’t seem convinced. “I don’t know…”

Kirby playfully shoved the prince, changing the conversation pretty quickly. “I know I messed up the plan...again, but I’m sure there’s a way to get out of here somewhere.” He began to skip ahead, running through the dark. Meta Knight wouldn’t approve. “Bet you can’t find it first!”

Fluff was hesitant, before sighing again and following after him.

When Kirby’s skip morphed into a walk, he let himself forget about the instances that happened before, including Fluff asking about him in concern and him getting mad within a few minutes before that.

After all, what made him feel better about Void Termina was to stop thinking about it. 

The long hallway seemed to go on for minutes. Fluff seemed to also forget about what just  happened, and was looking around for possibly anything that could help them leave. Kirby stared at the other for a moment, but then moved his gaze away. 

It wasn’t long before he noticed the hallway come to a dead end. Kirby’s eyes went wider as he noticed this looked like some sort of storage department. With his eyes now sort of adjusted to the darkness, he could tell he was still in the familiar walls of the Cozy Cabins, yet also not. He saw a glimmer of some sort of object, peaking his curiosity.

Fluff seemed to suddenly turn on a lightbulb in his head. “Oh, I remember this place now!” He let his hands be a second pair of eyes as he glanced around the walls. “I had this place built after we fixed up Patch Land, it was supposed to be in case those giant rugs would fall through the roofs again. Safety measures, you know?”

Kirby heard some clicking, before Fluff’s hand finally hit a switch. The lights in the area flashed open instantly, which made Kirby draw back for a moment. 

Now that he could see, he saw how much of the storage like room was a mess. The monsters here had definitely been in here before. They even seemed to chip at the small fireplace itself. But, he stepped forward to a shelf when he caught the glimpse again. Now, it was lower since the room now had light, but he still could pinpoint where it was.

He pushed the majority of trash out of the way, and tried to grab the circular object. He smiled, noticing it’s black, gray, and blue spinning colors, and the star image in the center. It was a metamortex orb! He couldn’t remember which one, though…

He drew his hand back, if he were to grab it he’d transform immediately, and waste it.

“Kirby!” Kirby looked over to the prince, who seemed to have found something as well. He held a colorful hat, which Kirby also recognized. The Knitting Needle Ravel ability!

Kirby giggled, pointing to the metamortex orb he had found too. 

“This is a great discovery! Maybe your mishap helped in the end.” Fluff chuckled in a playful manner. He then grew more serious. “But both of these wouldn’t help against wood…”

He tossed the hat to Kirby, who caught it thanks to a hop. He felt a bit fritzy and watched his body glow for a split second, before the hat stuck on the top of his head. He summoned two non-dark knitting needles, smiling widely.

Once his hands were free, Fluff grabbed the metamortex orb, which didn’t react to him like the hat. Kirby noticed a part of him slightly disappointed, but not surprised. All Metamortex orbs were like that, not working for him unless Kirby was with him. Faulty Metamatoes do that… “This is a Star Shooter orb… pretty useless.”

“...What now?” Kirby asked, letting the needles disappear.

“We have to keep looking…” Fluff sighed. “Both these objects are useless to destroy the needles...” Kirby frowned, to which Fluff immediately added. “This doesn’t mean we’re back on square one! We still have a bit more of the cabins to search in… even if it’ll be difficult. And finding something is better than nothing.”

Kirby nodded slightly, and Fluff pointed to the fireplace. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

And by the time the yarn monsters slammed the door open, rushing down the now lit hallway, the two little puffballs were nowhere to be seen. The only hint of their presence were the two missing treasures and a bit of sprinkling dust falling near the fireplace.  



	12. Chapter 12

“The prince is back!”

“So is Kirby!”

"Look what Kirby's wearing!"

Said Kirby was in the middle of talking with Prince Fluff when he noticed how crowded Quilty Square had become while they were away. Sure, it had been a bit crowded before, but everyone kept to themselves. Now, they were talking with each other, and their emotions seemed shambled and confused. When everyone noticed what few townsmen said, they seemed to hesitate to get closer, but they did give the two their whole attention.

“Hi!” Kirby waved at the Patch Landians, happy to no longer see only gloom. It wasn't happiness...but it was a good step!

He saw Zeke push past the crowd, whose relieved face made Kirby even happier. “I overheard from Angie! Is it…?”

“Yep!” Kirby responded, having a small idea on what he was talking about.  


Zeke smiled afterward, and other Patch Landians seem to mutter in confusion. Some even looked like they wanted Kirby to elaborate.

“Alright alright, no more crowding around the prince.” Kirby turned his head a bit to see Dom pushing through the crowd. The fast turn of the boy’s head made the hat he was currently still wearing tilt to a certain degree.

The crowd glanced at each other as Dom spoke again. “If the two had any world changing news, we’d announce it on posters or something.”

The disappointment he saw come out of the group hurt Kirby more than anything. Zeke whispered “You can tell us everything later!” before he backed up with everyone else. Eventually, everyone seemed to go back to doing whatever they were originally doing.

At first, Kirby thought Dom himself was even doing better. Until he saw him look over to the Prince. “You said the trip would only take two days. So, why are you here midway through day three?”

That whole thing took three days? Time must’ve passed by way too fast for Kirby to take notice.

“We had setbacks.” Fluff explained. “First, the ride crashed and wouldn’t start up again for a few hours-”

“Kirby did something, didn’t he?” Kirby frowned that Dom assumed that so quickly… I mean, it was true… but…

Fluff furrowed his eyebrows. “Kirby did nothing of the sorts.”

Why was Fluff lying?

Kirby did do “something”. He did the opposite of helping.

He did “something” twice!

“Whatever.” Even if it was one word, it seemed to be the most fury spoken word Dom said of the day. “Now, you have your responsibilities to get back to-”

“You can’t just falsely accuse my friend and expect me to happily listen to you!” That comment made Kirby feel warm again, but he was too distracted to fully notice. Besides, Dom didn’t falsely accuse.

“Your parents would be doing the exact same thing if they saw you.”

That was too far. And Kirby for sure knew that. Fluff’s expression changed vividly, and he looked like he was going to start crying right in the middle of Quilty Square.

Kirby was about to step forward and help the Prince, before he stopped him. “Don’t.” the boy whispered out.

“You're the prince! He can’t just say that!” Kirby whispered back.

Fluff shrugged, wiping a tear away. “It's no entirely his fault. He’ll apologize later.” That seemed unlikely. He cleared his throat, turning his full attention to Kirby. That action seemed to anger Dom even more. “Besides, I do have some catching up to do.”

“But Dom can’t say mean things like that!” Kirby protested. “Let me talk to him, I can help him!”

Or destroy him…

No- Help.

“No, you’ve helped plenty.” Fluff let out a weak smile. He moved Kirby’s hat back to being straight. “We’ll brainstorm what to do next later.”

Kirby seemed unsure, and was about to protest like a child who really wanted that toy. 

Fluff glanced away nervously, before nuzzling his head to Kirby’s in a way to say goodbye. “Come by when the sun sets, okay Kirby?” He called as he started to run to the castle, with Dom groaning and following.

That little action, even if it was something Kirby had done with others a lot, made Kirby instantly forget about what just happened, as well as the anger and urges he felt, and made him smile widely and get all giddy inside. He waved to Fluff, even if he was long gone by then. “Okay~!” he giggled out, before turning and skipping towards.

When he got close to the oldest apartment building, Zeke, Beadrix and Carrie caught up with him. “So, what happened?”

The puffball didn’t seem to hear them at first. He just continued skipping towards the apartment building.

“Kirby!”

“Huh?” Kirby snapped out of his little trance. Wow, he only felt that way once before…

Wait, wasn’t that with Ri-

“You know, what happened with the prince?” Carrie giggled out, yawning mid sentence. Even with it, however, Kirby couldn’t help but get nervous about what she could be implying.

Kirby felt himself get all hot again, and he laughed. “What do you mean? We just started talking again!”

“Good thing, too.” He looked over at Zeke as he opened his apartment door. As he stepped inside, Carrie instantly curled up on the chair. “It was getting tiring having to tell the prince about your days last week.”

“My days?” Kirby blinked. “He asked about me?”

“Yeah.” Zeke laughed. “Even when awkward around you he worried.”

Beadrix laughed. “Darling, his majesty would never stop talking about you when you were away!”

“You’ve definitely swept him off his feet.”

Kirby smiled a bit, pulling himself to his bright star bed. “Well, we are good friends. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised!” He laughed.

Zeke seemed surprised at that, and glanced at Beadrix, who only spoke with. “Oh, dear…”

Kirby was confused, but let it slide. 

“Er, besides the point. Did you really find a way to defeat Yin-Yarn?” Zeke asked, which spiked the other two’s attention. 

“Yeah!” Kirby exclaimed. It might’ve been stretching the truth, but Kirby and Fluff were going to figure it out tonight!

“We gotta tell Mara! And Angie!” Carrie spoke, floating off the chair. Even she seemed to fill with energy so quickly. 

“Definitely!” Beadrix giggled.

Kirby's smile edged across both sides of his face seeing them all so happy. For a moment, no gloom was in the area. 

As the three left the room, Kirby glanced back to the calendar by his bed. Dom said three days had passed, right? Well, probably should mark the calendar. 

He grabbed the nearby marker and crossed off three days off the calendar, looking at the newer writing of “leaving today!” on the paper. 

Only halfway through the week… and Kirby was already dreading leaving. 

What if they didn’t think of something by the end of the week. Kirby couldn’t leave without helping everyone. 

He  _ needed _ to help everyone.

Dom, even if he was a jerk, 

Carrie, Beadrix, Angie, Zeke, Mara…

Fluff…

Kirby crossed off the day, before rewriting the messy wording right below it again. It wouldn’t be too bad if he stayed for one more week...right?

That gives Kirby enough time to help everyone!

He placed the marker on the top of the dresser, smiling. He couldn’t help but subtly hear a “bzzt” noise, which brought curiosity. 

Kirby glanced down to his backpack, jumping off the bed. He was about to open the backpack to check what was going on, until…

“Kirby!”

The pink puffball turned his attention to the door, seeing Mara enter the room. “...You mind?”

“Not at all!” Kirby giggled out, jumping back on the bed to sit. 

Mara floated in the room, having a weak smile. “...Is what Zeke said really true?”

“Yep!”

Mara’s smile grew a little. “...Really?”

Kirby nodded. His smile seemed to weaken when he remembered things Fluff had told him in Space land. “I’m...I’m sorry it couldn’t happen sooner. Sooner for Buster…”

Mara flinched. But, eventually, she seemed to calm down again. “It’s fine…” she glanced down to the ground.

“I heard you and him were… really close.”

“Close?” Mara asked, her square body spinning. “I’d say as close as you and Fluff. He was great… but definitely had crazy ideas.”

Kirby chuckled a little. 

“Like, one time he wanted us two to do a special race… but with fire.” Mara chuckled back, before frowning a little. “I had to remind him how deadly that could be. Those were good times.”

Kirby mirrored the girl. “I’m sorry.”

Mara looked back to him, ignoring his last comment. “It had been so long, but I still feel like it happened yesterday...” She gripped her dotted eyes shut. “I remember when he started acting funny… he was always secretly insecure, and a part of me wished to speak up about it before Yin-Yarn took advantage of his feelings…”

Kirby glanced around, thinking of what to do to help. He jumped off the bed, feeling the big hat bonk on his head, before looking back to Mara. “He wouldn’t want you to be sad about it… he would want you to move on!”

He remembered Magolor telling Taranza that before, hopefully it worked better than that incident. Taranza started sobbing afterwards…

Luckily, Mara didn’t start crying. Instead, she smiled. “You’re right, but it’s still hard doing the guard job without him. However, you’re absolutely correct.” She nuzzled her head on the side of Kirby. “Thank you.”

“I’m happy to help!”

Mara nodded, and she seemed to take notice of the object hanging on the wall. “That’s a lot of writing and scribbles…”

Kirby noticed what she was talking about, and shrugged. “Just a bit of changing plans.”

“Right… I forgot you first came here for a vacation…” Mara commented. “This whole situation must be fuming you, you just wanted to stay here for a week.”

Kirby was about to say how he wanted to help until he passed out, but stopped. “Fuming?”

“Sorry, still thinking about that fire race Buster was crazy about.” Mara apologized. “But it must’ve frustrated you…Just know that Angie and I would be willing to help if you and the prince ne-”

The pink puffball eyes went wide for a second, before looking at Mara. “Hold on, say that again!”

“Er- Say… what?”

“What you just said!”

“It must’ve frustrated you…?”

“No before that!”

“...Fire race?” Mara tilted her head, confused.

“THAT’S IT!” Kirby exclaimed, pointing at the dumbfounded Mara. “Fire burns wood!”

“What do you m-”

Kirby had already turned and bolted out of the room, leaving Mara to call out “KIRBY WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!”

He sprinted through the now empty halls of Quilty Square, hearing Chaise Woole call out to him as well, but he didn’t stop. He continued to run past the other apartment buildings, and past the shops. When he got inside the castle, he almost tripped. 

It was that pull feeling…

But it felt even worse. 

He could almost hear Yin-Yarn itself, but that was crazy talk.

… Good thing he got his idea right now!

He continued running even when he got inside the castle, starting to yell out the prince’s name.

“FLUFF!”

“FLUFF!”

He saw Dom in the corner of his vision, and skidded to a halt. He adjusted the yarn hat on his head once he stopped. “DOM WHERE IS-”

“He’s busy.” Dom narrowed his eyes. “You don’t need to distract him-”

“PLEASEEE?” Kirby made himself go baby eyes mode, whining a little. 

Dom groaned. “...Down the left hall third door down.”

“THANK YOU DOM!” He then turned to the left and started running again. He slammed the third door open, and closed it behind him.

“FLUFF!”

The prince looked over to the hero of dreamland, and Kirby noticed he was not only holding a spear, but there were about seven other Patch Landians with him. The Patch Landians seemed to whisper at Kirby’s presence.

“Kirby, what is it?” The prince asked, his eyebrows narrowing more than the usual. “I said to come when the sun sets.”

“I got an idea though!” Kirby shouted, adjusting that hat once again. “You see-”

“You can tell me later, I’m in the middle of a training session.” Fluff explained, holding the spear slightly incorrectly. Kirby couldn’t help but notice.

Well, if that’s the case then the session needed to end. Kirby grabbed the spear from the prince, who squeaked in response. 

“You’re holding it wrong.” He explained, gripping it in the way he remembered when he last had the Spear ability. “It’s more like this.” he then turned to the guards in training, smiling a bit. “You see guys?”

The trainees glanced at each other, before shifting their hold to slightly resemble it. Well, the most they could, since Patch Landians didn’t have arms. 

“What were you going on?” Kirby whispered.

Fluff blinked, before shrugging. “Standard fighting, I guess?”

Kirby nodded, looking back to the trainees. “Well, there’s a lot you can do with a spear! There’s the spear thrust.” He moved his second hand to the handle, before thrusting the spear forward, however stopped early to not hit anyone. “You grip the spear, and thrust it forward.”

The Patch Ladnians seemed to spin in response, and some even tried to copy him.

“You can also throw it, like this!” He turned to the wall, and threw the spear straight at it. It stuck into the wool, and the boy quickly grabbed it again. He knew his own move wasn’t as good as it would've been if he had the copy ability itself, but he wasn’t  _ horrible _ . 

“And if you charge enough, you can also fly with it!” He explained, placing the spear on the ground. “But that’s more complicated.”

One circle Patch Landian tried to throw the spear into a wall as well, but seemed to fail badly.

“No, not like that.” Kirby spoke, remembering how Bandana Dee threw his spear. He was the best spear user he knew. “You use your back.”

“Oh.” The Patch Landian turned to the wall again, and threw it again, this time hitting around the same area Kirby had.

“Yeah! That’s more like it!” Kirby smiled. He loved helping. “Why don’t you guys try it now?”

The Patch Landians nodded and moved over to the other side of the room. 

“Dang, Kirby.” Fluff chuckled, grabbing the spear from Kirby. “You wouldn’t be a bad teacher.”

Kirby smiled, feeling warm throughout his body. “Thanks!” he chuckled, looking at the weapon rack in the room, which only held spears. “I think having guards being experts in more weapons might be in handy though.”

Fluff seemed to consider it. “That’s not a bad idea.” he then chuckled. “Open for a job?” he joked.

Kirby laughed, before remembering why he was here. “Can I tell you my idea now?!”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Kirby got excited again, hopping in place. He even grabbed the prince’s hands in excitement. “I know how to destroy Yin-Yarn!”

The prince stared at the other as he hopped. “...You do?”

Kirby nodded, giggling uncontrollably. He was so happy about the idea… and he knew the prince would be too.

“Yeah! With fire!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I wonder how Fluff will react to this idea? Maybe he'll be just as excited? Or maybe the idea's a little too crazy...?


	13. Chapter 13

Kirby was giggling as Prince stared at him. The boy noticed how multiple emotions seemed to mix into the brown of his eyes, but surely, relief and happiness would be in them! Right?

He noticed gloom...but it was definitely not like before.

“That’s a terrible idea!” Fluff exclaimed, which took Kirby aback a little. “Kirby, did you forget what everyone here is made out of?!”

“Of course not!” Kirby smiled again. “We’re made of yarn-”

“Repeat that.” Fluff’s eyebrows narrowed. “Repeat it a couple times…”

“Yarn!” 

The two went into a bit of silence, only hearing some muttering in the background. Kirby tilted his head in confusion, rethinking that word again and again and again. Yet, nothing seemed to hit him.

Fluff groaned, seeming relatively annoyed within that moment. He placed his circular hands on his face as he began to speak again. “Fire is dangerous enough, but to yarn? It could be deadly. Even if we burn slowly, and even if it can go out on its own, approximately two out of five patch landians still end up dying from the wounds a burn gives afterwards!” He removed his hands to look Kirby in the eyes. “Do you not remember me telling you this?! I told you when we had to venture through Hot Land! I had to remind you several times!”

“Oh…” Kirby responded. 

“Even if it does have a chance of it working, an idea isn’t enough to work on! Working off an idea instead of a plan is super reckless!”

Kirby nodded a bit.

“Do you understand now?”

“...But you said it has a chance!” Kirby shouted. “Fluff, this can help everyone!”

Fluff facepalmed. “This is way too-”

“Help  _ everyone _ ?”

Kirby turned his attention to the seven Patch Landians also in the room. They had stopped training like they were supposed to be doing, and had gathered close to the two to eavesdrop. Six of them had wide eyes, as if they were told there was an all-you-can-eat buffet open for free today only.

“Yeah!” Kirby raised his arms up. “We're gonna use fires to burn Yin-Yarn and stop them from rising to power again!”

“Woahhh.”

“Really?!”

“Yep!”

The seventh one finally spoke up, which was silent the entire time Kirby was here. “What if that doesn’t work?”

Kirby’s blue eyes blinked at the statement. ...What  _ if _ it didn’t work?

He wouldn’t be helping anyone if it didn’t work.

…

No.

“It will work!” Kirby cheered in a reassuring tone. “Heros don’t fail!”

“Kirby…” Fluff whispered, suddenly seeming less annoyed and even more anxious.

The seventh guard in training seemed to mirror the others at that sentence, and the other six got ecstatic. “Wow!”

“Yin-Yarn is going to disappear!”

“Forever!”

“This is the best day ever!”

“We gotta tell everyone!”

“No! NO!” Fluff shouted, seeming to overthink and panic to the max. He stepped in front of Kirby, which made him confused a bit. “L-Let’s not tell anyone ye-”

It was too late. All the guards had dropped their spears, and had rushed out of the room. They were cheering, and happy. It reminded Kirby of the entire town’s reaction when Fluff announced they were going to put Patch Land back together. It made him very happy, and giggled when they left.

He turned to Fluff, who still looked like he was told the worst news ever. “Why did you do that?!”

“I was telling them the truth!” Kirby waved his arms again. “Fluff, this is how we help everyone!”

“This is way too reckless!” Fluff explained. “Think about what I said! Plus, there’s no fire here! The closest fire is in Hot Land, away from the habitants!”

Kirby’s smile faded, and he seemed to calm himself as his dear friend’s logic got him. “Oh…”

He regretted exciting those trainees, and himself.

“It’s a good start… let’s go calm them down and think it over-”

No.

He couldn’t.

Kirby clenched his eyes shut. If he did that, he would disappoint them! He would make everything worse! Like he did back in Space Land. Like he did back in Snow Land!

He couldn’t handle those faces of crushed dreams.

That wouldn’t help anyone.

It wouldn’t.

Think, Kirby! Think!

And just like that, a thought in the back of his head he didn’t seem to remember making gave him an idea.

“Wait!” Fluff seemed to flinch when Kirby spoke up again. “If all the fire is in Hot Land, then let’s just bring the fire to Yin-Yarn!”

Fluff seemed dumbfounded that Kirby even said that. “Kirby- that’s even worse!”

“We just need something to keep the flames intact.” He suddenly remembered the very thing on his head. “The hat! Perfect!”

“Kirby, listen to me!”

“Right.” Kirby glanced away from Fluff, hearing the prince sigh as if he thought he had finally got into Kirby’s common sense. Until the puffball turned back to the prince. “Fire wouldn’t last the trip, so what if we brought a source- Hot Wings!”

“I- Kirby are you listening to yourself!?”

Kirby was getting excited again, and he started to go to the door. “If we chase Hot Wings to Quilty Square, I can capture some flames with yarn balls and burn Yin-Yarn!”

“That’s no plan at all! That’s nothing but recklessness!”

Kirby just didn’t seem to listen to his friend’s words. He only thought about this idea.

And how it would help everyone.

“Fluff, this is the only way! Yin-Yarn’s pull effect is already getting worse!”

Fluff’s eyes went wide, his attitude flipping a full 180. “Wait, you feel the-”

He started to speed walk through the halls of the castle, his hands waving back and forth. Fluff hurried after him. 

“Kirby, for the love of wool! Just stop and hear common sense!” Fluff almost pleaded, catching up to Kirby. If he was anxious back in the room, it was toned up to eleven here.

Yet again, Kirby didn’t seem to hear. He turned to the main room of the castle, seeing the trainees huddled around a figure. When he skipped closer, he noticed it was Dom. And Dom noticed Kirby, and immediately pushed past the excited others. 

“ _ Kirby.  _ Just what is this nonsense I’m hearing?!” Dom snapped out, which Kirby was unfazed by. 

“We’re gonna stop Yin-Yarn!” Kirby responded.

“By risking your life?! By risking other lives?!”

“It won’t be risky if we’re careful!”

“You’re acting just like Buster did!” That should’ve gotten to Kirby. 

But… 

It didn’t… 

Dom glared at the prince, who skidded beside Kirby and was trying to get his attention. “And  _ you  _ are okay with this?! I knew you were obsessed with him, but really?! Even you’re smarter than this!”

Fluff’s face went purple. “Hey- I’m on your side here!” He shook his head. “And I’m not obs-”

“Don’t worry guys!” Kirby spoke out, smiling at the two clearly tensed individuals. “This will help everyone! I know it will!”

Fluff facepalmed, and Dom groaned. “Fluff, talk some sense into your boyfriend.” he whispered, but it was loud enough for Kirby to hear. 

Kirby seemed to snap out of his phase, and his face felt heat very quickly. But, Kirby seemed to change back within moments.

“H-he’s not my boyfriend!” Fluff shouted. 

Kirby turned and sprinted out of the room. He needed to start the idea! 

It would help everyone, they’ll see!

“KIRBY! DANG IT!” Kirby heard Fluff scream, before he probably started to follow him.

The last thing Kirby heard before leaving the castle altogether, was Dom’s yelling. 

“IF YOU DON’T GET HIM UNDER CONTROL, THEN I WILL!”

✥✥✥

Fountain Gardens looked just like it had when Kirby had first showed up on this vacation. Silent, with no sign of anybody. Yet, at the same time, too clean to be straight up abandoned. 

Kirby glanced from side to side, before starting to run again. He passed by the fountains, and the swinging trees. It made him smile a little, the last time he was here he wasn’t able to fully take in its beauty.

And he’d be able to do it a lot better once he helped everyone. 

As he furthered in Grass Land, he felt his own adrenaline and excitement seem to calm itself. But, not by a lot. It was enough to make him think about this so-called “plan” of his however.

Fluff did say this was dangerous…and that it wasn’t even a plan, but an idea.

No.

This was going to help everyone.

This was the only way. 

Who cares if some people get hurt…

NO!

Why would Kirby think that!?

Of course he’d care!

Right?!

Kirby shook his head and continued to run again. He just needed to get to Hot Land. 

He took a step, and then realised what he stood on. Before he could react, the fountain’s water shot him in the air, and made him crash land on a nearby tightrope. Kirby groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. 

For a moment, his head went fuzzy. A part of him saying to go back to Quilty Square… but he shook his head. 

This was going to help everyone.

He glanced behind himself, and that was the first time he noticed Prince Fluff wasn’t right behind him. That confused him… surely, the prince would’ve joined him.

He was against the idea though.

...He’s out of it.

Kirby sighed, but forced himself to not feel down about it. Fluff had been upset for too long, and it was messing with him. The pink puffball jumped down from the tightrope, and continued further.

That was when he saw the very pond he came out of a little over a week ago. It made him stop again, and he couldn’t help but look into it. He looked past his own reflection, and squinted his eyes to see the bottom of the pond. The exact spot he remembered seeing the sock in…

Now that he thought about it… 

It seemed too much of a coincidence to have been dropped here.

Sure, the algae made it reasonable to stay there for three years… but he knew Patch Landians rarely swam.

So how would rocks fall on top of it?

“Kirby?” Kirby blinked, almost forgetting that was his own name, and looked to the right of him, seeing none other than Angie. She floated towards him, her spear clutched on her feet..

Kirby smiled and waved. “What are you doing here, Angie?”

“I was chasing some rogue yarn monsters that got out of their containment…” Angie explained, looking dumbfoundedly at the boy. “You came back from your mission from Prince Fluff?”

“Yeah, and I’m on my way for the next part of it!”

“...By yourself?”

Kirby shrugged. “Prince Fluff didn’t like my idea, I guess.”

“...” Angie looked away. 

Silence ensued, before Angie spoke again. “Well, if the prince didn’t like it… don’t you think it’s a bad idea, then?”

Kirby narrowed his eyes. “He just doesn’t see how this is the only way to fix everything! I’m trying to help everyone! And this is the only way.”

Angie stepped back from the other’s sudden frustration. Er, floated back.

Kirby shook his head. “I need to go to Hot Land.” 

But, right when he was about to run, Angie blocked his path. He looked at her in confusion, and was surprised to see her shocked expression morph into a defensive one. She even gripped the spear in Kirby’s direction.

“I’m sorry Kirby, but I can’t allow you to go any further.” Angie explained, pointing the spear directly in Kirby’s face. “You aren't acting like yourself. I’m going to have to escort you back home so you can think things over-”

Kirby soon let his eyes fill with rage. “Fluff sent you to do this, didn’t he?!”

Angie narrowed her eyes. “Kirby, please don’t start with the assumptions.” She spoke, a hint of plead in her voice.

“He did, didn’t he?!” Kirby glanced back to the pond. “He put the sock there on purpose, didn’t he?! He never wanted me here, didn’t he?!”

“Kirby, that’s unreasonable.” 

Kirby shook his head, which was starting to hurt. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the hat still pasted on his head, or because of something else. “I don’t have time for this!” He summoned his whip. “Let me pass!”

Angie seemed to grow more hostile immediately, but kept the spear where it was. “The real Kirby wouldn’t hurt his friends.”

Kirby took that as a challenge, so he grabbed the spear with his whip, and pulled it away from the Patch Landian’s grip. Once he did that, he used the whip to grab Angie herself, and throw her to the side.

Angie let out a wince as she fell down, and that caused Kirby to freeze.

...What was he doing?!

He sighed, looking at Angie. “Sorry, but I  _ need  _ to help everyone.”

He then booked into a run again, morphing into the car within moments of running.

“KIRBY, STOP!”

He continued to run, even with Angie’s calls.

“AS A GUARD I COMMAND YOU!”

“PLEASE!”

...

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

...

“YOU'RE ACTING JUST LIKE BUSTER WAS!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling this is the chapter that makes everyone hate me.  
> Hooray for edginess I guess.


	14. Chapter 14

The warm sand gave Kirby the message about him arriving in Hot Land. Specifically, Pyramid Sands. 

That was quick.

Kirby smiled lightly, taking in the heat. He remembered visiting this place all that time ago. Fluff was with him, and would explain how this place was an ancient ruin built thousands of years ago. Kirby remembered being so fascinated with it, and how every place here seemed to hold secrets or treasures, and the people who lived here only did because they were brave enough to explore these areas. 

Kirby’s smile went away slightly, remembering that he was in fact alone this time. That Fluff was who knows where, and he was doing this idea by himself. 

He couldn’t help but think back to Angie’s words. 

Maybe this idea wasn’t as good as he thought it was. 

Fluff was smart, after all. If he saw this idea as “reckless”... then maybe it was…

No.

Kirby shook his head. This was the only way. 

…But if it was then why was everyone eager to stop him?

No, it was. They just couldn’t see it.

Kirby stepped past the areas of quicksand, looking behind himself again. As if a part of him was hoping he’d see the prince. But the back of his head told him not to feel upset, it was his fault he didn’t see this was the only way.

Why was Kirby feeling so… conflicted?

He never second guessed himself like this before.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t already conflicted about the prince himself. 

Once he got himself on solid sand again, he found himself going back into his car form and driving ahead. This area of Pyramid Sands was full of hills and ramps. He heard a lot of Patch Landians rode races in this area… he did that before. 

That was a fun time, he remembered Fluff screaming on top of his transformed head to go faster to win the race, despite him previously stating he “wasn’t the competitive type”. 

Stop thinking about Fluff! He forgot about you!

The back of his head seemed to yell, and it resulted in Kirby almost running into a cactus in the road. He skidded to a stop, before going around it.

They should remove those.

Nevermind that, he could tell he was now out of Pyramid Sands. He knew that because he could now not only see the pyramid shaped temple that was Temper Temple, but as well as the large volcano that was in the center of Hot Land. The volcano’s outside lava had been cleaned up during the years, but besides that, it seemed relatively the same. 

Kirby knew the multiple Patch Landians that lived here had their residences near the bottom of the volcano. A part of him told himself to keep this idea away from those people.

The other part didn’t seem to care, which wasn’t like Kirby at all.

He noticed a small Octagon shaped Patch Landian in the distance, who seemed to notice him as well. Within a few moments, the Patch Landian had floated over to Kirby, who stopped his speed to be friendly.

Even if a certain part of him was getting impatient. 

“Oh my Nova, you’re Kirby!” the figure gasped, once gloomed eyes seem to sparkle in admiration. “You’re my hero!”

Kirby’s smile widened. “Hi!”

“Did you really put Patch Land back together five years ago?” 

“Well- yeah!” Kirby explained. “Alongside Prince Fluff!”

Come on…

“Wow!” The Patch Landian spoke out. “I never thought I’d see you up close!” The figure grabbed Kirby’s hand to shake, which Kirby chuckled. “You’re my hero- Oh I already said that- even if I’m older- how old even  _ are _ you?”

Can he go now?!

“In your age? I think 14.”

He needed to help everyone!

Calm down Kirby… you’ve dealt with this before.

But the idea!

He could work with a few minutes talking…

Push the guy away!

He’ll stop you!

Calm down! This isn’t the first citizen to stop you. 

“That doesn’t matter. What are you doing over here in Hot Land?” The Patch Landian seemed to take notice in Kirby’s conflictedness, and stopped shaking his hand. “Everyone else would love to see you! Let’s go!”

“No!” Kirby immediately reworded his phrase, upset that he felt angry at a potential friend. “I mean, sorry but I can’t. I need to get to Hot Wings.” he said, which was basically what he told everyone else he ran into.

The octagon inhabitant blinked. “Oh, what for?”

Oh come on!

“I need to get her to Quilty Square, it’s to help everyone!” Kirby explained. 

He’s going to be like everyone else. Who cares about him or the townies!?

“Oh, really? I can help with that!” the Patch Landian smiled. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah! I know where she is!” The Patch Landian turned around. “What do you need to do?”

“Uh…” Kirby looked at one of his hands. He wasn’t completely sure…

That should’ve been a sign for him to stop. 

“Just, wake her up!” Kirby exclaimed. 

“On it! You take a few to rest!” The Patch Landian smiled. “I can’t believe I’m helping  _ the _ Kirby-!”

Kirby watched him leave, waving slightly. This was going to be great!

He was going to help everyone this way.

Fluff would see that.

He only stared in that same direction, his smile fading.

...Maybe he should’ve said no. What if something happened?!i

Why should that matter?!

It SHOULD matter! That wouldn’t be helping anyone!

It will be, stop overthinking like Fluff! If that guy gets hurt, that’s on him!

_ He could get hurt?! _

Kirby's eyes went wide, and he was about to take off after the octagon, before his body seemed to disagree. It stayed in place, which made Kirby’s eyes show frustration again.

MOVE-

“KIRBY!” 

Kirby flinched at that voice. Don’t look back… and he did anyways. He turned his direction to behind him, and saw the familiar broken crown and blue body it was stitched to. It was in a car shape, before morphing back into his normal form, skidding right by the puffball. 

Fluff!

Why are you happy about that!?

He might’ve changed his mind!

He probably hid that sock, remember?!

Kirby’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his body moving to face him without Kirby even telling it to.

What was going on with him…?

“I’m stopping you.” Fluff’s own eyes narrowed. “Kirby, you need to seriously think about what you’re doing.”

“Stopping  _ me _ ?!” Kirby snapped, which definitely took Fluff by surprise. “At least I’m helping everyone! Would you have done anything if I ever showed up?!”

Why was he saying this?! He didn’t feel this way!

“I  _ was _ doing stuff! I was doing what I could!” Fluff shook his head. “Kirby, you’re out of it.” he cleared his throat, lifting his head with his eyes showing hurt. “As future king of Patch Land, I’m ordering you to come with me back to your home.”

Yet, Kirby didn’t faze. “You didn’t want me here, didn’t you!? All you told me in Space Land, that was a lie!”

Why would Fluff lie to him?

Shut up!

“You’re assuming.” Fluff clenched his eyes shut, like he was trying to stay strong. “If you don’t come with me willingly, I’ll force you.”

Kirby shook his head. “Why should I listen to you?!”

“Because I rule these lands!” Fluff’s face loosened. “And... I’m your friend. I know that latter one meant something to you.”

Don’t listen to him.

Kirby shook his head, there was no way he’d help everyone if his friend was stopping him. He sighed, before turning and running. He needed to lose Fluff. He needed to do this.

“KIRBY! FOR THE LOVE OF YIN-YARN!”

He glanced behind himself as he became a car once again, seeing Fluff following him.

Kirby’s blue dotted bags glanced from side to side, before they rested on Temper Temple, which was growing in size as Kirby slowly arrived. 

Perfect! That place had a dozen traps to lose Fluff in!

But aren't those mainly fire?!

So?!

Kirby jumped through the door frame, skidding to a halt when he noticed the first trap in the temple; a spring that would shoot fire if they got too close. Back when he went through this area the first time, he had the Fire Engine Metamortex orb, and could use yarn water that somehow got rid of real fire.

...Say, how did that work…?

Ugh! Not important!

Once Kirby saw the trap not activate, he immediately dashed underneath it, jumping on the brown platform he knew would begin moving once weight was placed onto it. Which was what happened almost instantly. He smiled, glancing behind him to see that the trap had been activated.

Fluff wouldn’t be following him until that turned off.

He would be fine.

What if he…?

Kirby wasn’t able to finish that thought, because it seemed to fade away before he could. But, he only shrugged and leaped up to the next hallway, leaving the platform to fade away.

There was a total lack of yarn monsters around. Sure, the last time he was here there were only two yarn monsters here, yet it still left the temple empty and sort of with peace.

It frustrated Kirby even more.

He could use a fight!

And a fight would distract Fluff even more for him to leave.

He walked through the halls, his eyes seeming to show none of the cheerfulness they’d usually have. He seemed to tense even more than he was when he heard the grunts of a familiar friend.

Kirby glanced behind him and saw Fluff land on the same floor. Fidgeting with his broken crown, he glared at Kirby as he caught his breath. To which Kirby glared right back.

“I’ve had enough of this, Kirby.” Fluff gasped out, taking a few steps forward. Kirby only took a few back. “Snap out of this already.”

Kirby only summoned knitting needles, thanks to the hat he seemed to forget he was still wearing, which helped him make a yarn ball. 

Right when Fluff seemed to take a step forward, Kirby threw the ball at him. Fluff’s brown eyes seemed to get replaced with shock, and the prince dodged the yarn ball just before it would’ve hit him. The dodge caused him to fall behind another trap that blew fire the moment the yarn ball was under it. 

Kirby only stared as the yarn ball caught into flames, and seemed to sit there for a while. Fluff could’ve easily been where the yarn ball laid…

That thought didn’t faze Kirby at all.

That part of him that he knew would’ve said something seemed to be extremely tired now...

Kirby landed on the second moving platform, which he only stood impatiently for it to finish. The platform took too long to only get halfway, and he groaned. 

He didn’t have all day!

Once he saw the next hallway, he jumped up with his might and began to run across the lava spitting ground. He wasted no time to get to the third moving platform, which based on one being orange and the other red, he knew it would split. He jumped on the orange one only, which caused that one to start moving and leaving the second one behind.

He should’ve definitely made that one move too.

Because now-

He turned his head and saw Fluff arrive at the end of the hallway, causing the pink puffball to narrow his eyes. “Why are you still following me?!” He groaned, watching as Fluff landed on the red one.

“Didn’t I tell you that I would follow you no matter what?!” Fluff called back, watching the orange platform go up and down while his own went the opposite. 

Kirby responded with another attempt to throw a yarn ball at him. Fluff dodged again, letting the ball fall into the lava below. It encouraged Kirby to try again. 

Throw. Dodge.

...And again.

Throw. Dodge.

_ THROW! _

Kirby threw the last one with too much strength, fury enveloping him completely. He watched as it hit Fluff square in the face, the blue puffball letting out a large wince and losing balance. He seemed to fall off the platform, but caught the edge just in time. 

That was right when Kirby’s platform landed to the next hallway. But, he seemed to freeze right when he had hurt Fluff.

...He  _ hurt _ Fluff. 

What if Fluff had fallen!?

Kirby glanced at the knitting needles as they faded away from his hands. He looked back to the platform, only watching Fluff struggle to keep put.

His body stopped going numb, and he realized his insides were hurting again. Why didn’t he feel that sooner!?

He wasn’t helping Fluff this way. He needed to stop.

No! This was his chance!

This is too much.

Stop it.

Fluff was his friend! He needed to hel-

LISTEN TO  _ ME _ !

Kirby turned and booked for the last moving platform, which was another split one. He learned from the last experience, and made sure to step on both platforms before letting it take off. Landing squarely on the red platform, he took a quick glance to see if Fluff was within sight behind him.

The moment he did he felt the other puffball ram right into him. It made Kirby squeak and fall down from the shock, Fluff breathing heavily as he fell right besides him.

Kirby instinctively tried to shove Fluff onto the other, more dangerous platform that was the orange one. He knew from memory that the area that one went to had too many fire traps, and the only way they made it through last time was with the metamortex. However, it was already too far of a distance away as the red platform moved to the safer side. 

Kirby snapped his gaze to Fluff, who was already on his feet. “Why couldn’t you let me do this!?”

Fluff’s eyebrows were in a more narrowed position, yet his eyes seemed to be taking another approach. He looked tired, and upset.

Kirby summoned another yarn ball with his needles, and was ready to throw it again. “You should’ve just gave up when you fell behind the first time.”

When he threw the yarn ball, a part of him was surprised to see Fluff catch it with his hands instead of dodging. Fluff looked to Kirby, his sadness morphing into determination. “You know… before Space Land I probably would’ve given up like you say… but not now.” He clenched his eyes shut. “I’m not losing someone like this again.” Moving his sort of arms back, he threw the yarn back at Kirby. “ESPECIALLY NOT YOU!”

Kirby went to dodge, but it seemed like Fluff was smarter than Kirby. He threw the yarn at more of an angle, so when Kirby moved out of the way from where he stood previously, the yarn still hit him in the face. The boy winced, falling against the wall the platform was lucky to be against right at that moment. 

Kirby fell down to the platform, feeling all that anger evaporate instantly the moment he hit the ground. He groaned, rubbing his head, feeling his eyes water slightly. But, he forced the tears back in.

Now, he was finally able to think clearly.

...What was he  _ doing  _ back there?!

“Did that actually work?!” Fluff gasped out, loosening up when he saw Kirby’s face. He sprinted over to Kirby, embracing him in a big hug. “I’m so sorry I hit you! This is a-all my fault!”

Kirby didn’t respond, thinking back at everything.

When he thought of that stupid idea…

When he attacked Angie…

When he attacked  _ Fluff. _

...He did the exact opposite of helping...

“I-I knew I shouldn’t have shown you Yin-Yarn! If I didn’t it never would’ve gotten this far!” Fluff shouted, a few lonely tears falling down the side of his face. But, the prince shook his head. “Not the time- you’re the issue right now...” He looked to Kirby, his eyebrows doing something Kirby never saw happened; moving away from a narrowed position. “Those more vulnerable to possession are those with insecurities...”

...Insecurities?

…

No.

No no no no no no no.

Kirby shut his eyes, forcing the tears in. He wouldn’t cry. No.

“Kirby…” Fluff seemed hurt at the notion. He looked down at the platform, which not only had joined back with the orange half, but had stopped at the top of the temple. “We can talk about this later. Let’s get out of Hot Land-”

“NO!”

Fluff flinched as Kirby shouted. The puffball began to tremble as the tears became overwhelming. Kirby opened his eyes just to have them fall out like rain.

“I-I can’t! I can’t leave!” His voice came out like a whimper, or a traumatized child. “I need to help everyone! Dom, Zeke, Mara, Angie, YOU! I’ve done anything but that!” He tightened his grip on Fluff. 

Fluff looked lost for words. “I… Kirby, that wasn’t you. So you were close to getting fully possessed by Yin-Yarn that doesn’t change what you already did-”

That sentence made everything crumble even faster. “I’m not done yet! They won’t be happy if I don’t help more!”

“Kirby, you already did so much-”

“It’s not enough!” All he could was cry. “It won’t  _ be _ enough until everyone is happy!”

“I-”

“I’m supposed to be pure of heart!” The tears seemed to completely soak Kirby’s yarn body. “I’m what everyone looks up to! I gotta help everyone be happy!” He choked out, before sobbing completely.

“Please, Fluff! I can’t fail twice!”

...

Ashamed. That was the word Kirby would explain how he felt. He wasn’t supposed to be the sad one. He shouldn’t be here, crying next to his friend. He told himself this would never happen again!

...

“Oh, Kirby…” Fluff brought Kirby closer into the hug, which caused Kirby to cry into the side of his face. “...This really was… because of Void Termina… wasn’t it?”

Kirby could only answer with a whimper, and more cries. 

Fluff moved a bit to help wipe away Kirby’s tears, almost just like Kirby did for him. “You shouldn’t put yourself down because of what happened with Void Termina.”

“But… I could’ve helped Void…”

“Maybe you could’ve.” Fluff sniffed, shrugging a little. “We’ll never know now. And thinking about what could’ve happened won’t change what did happen.”

“...But…”

“Kirby.” Fluff looked into Kirby’s blue eyes, which caused the boy to look back into Fluff’s brown. “Everyone makes mistakes, things they’ll regret. What was it you told me back at Space Land? ‘Sometimes, you just gotta admit the past happened, and move on’?”

Kirby blinked, looking away and starting to cry again.

“However, I’d change the last part of it.” Fluff explained. “As long as you try, then you’re doing alright.” He smiled weakly. “You did so much already, Kirby. You shouldn’t put yourself down just because you did something differently then what you wanted, or feel like you’re not doing enough. And please, if you can’t help but feel this way, then tell someone!” 

Kirby's mouth crinkled a smile in response, feeling all warm that he couldn’t feel the tears anymore. He missed this feeling, in a weird way.

“I’m willing to listen, Kirby. No matter how dumb you might think it is. Friends are supposed to be there, after all.” Fluff smiled. “You understand?”

“...Yeah.”

Fluff let out a chuckle, which confused Kirby for a moment. “It’s funny, we both seemed to have an issue about not telling others things...but we can learn together, alright?” 

Kirby, despite not looking at the prince himself, could imagine him trying to flash Kirby a comforting smile. He knew Fluff was talking about how he didn’t tell Kirby a lot of stuff that happened, out of fear of Kirby being disappointed. And even when he did, he still hid away a lot of information. Kirby nodded.

“Besides. Just because we got two rather useless objects, doesn’t mean we’re back to square one. We still can get rid of Yin-Yarn… just, not like this. With a plan, not an idea.”

Kirby looked back at Fluff again, the tears seeming to slow down, but not completely stopping. “Really?”

Fluff’s face went purple, and he moved away, laughing nervously. Kirby was a bit disappointed. “Y-Yeah! Tell you what, I never ate that Maxim Tomato you gave me, let’s go back to the castle, and share it while we think up some safer ideas. Not only that, but we’ll think of another plan on how to open up more.” Fluff suggested, leaving his hand out for Kirby to grab. Kirby seemed confused, he was already standing. It wasn’t like he needed support. “What do you say to that, hero of dreamland?”

Kirby didn't even notice his face go a darker pink. He only giggled, wiping the last tears, before grabbing Fluff’s hand. “Yeah!”


	15. Chapter 15

Kirby jumped through the door frame, his smile slowly going back to how it used to be.

Fluff stared at Kirby as they left the temple together, to which the prince commented. “You got over that fast.”

Kirby turned his attention to Fluff. “Well, like you said, that wasn’t me!”

“I was talking about… the whole breakdown thing.” 

“Oh.” Kirby blinked, but he laughed. “That whole talk made me feel a lot better, and now I feel all happy again!”

Fluff smiled rather softly. “Well, I’m glad that it did.” The two took the stairs down the temple, and the blue puffball glanced around. “After all, you made me feel better back in Space Land, and it feels right to repay the favor.”

“I guess you could say you saved me twice now.” 

Fluff laughed. “Guess you could.” The prince glanced back to Kirby, his eyebrows not going back to the neutral narrowed position since they had left. “Don’t try and make it unbalanced again, Kirby.”

Kirby snickered, still feeling that heat. However, he soon stopped. “...Fluff.”

“Yeah, hero of dreamland?”

“I feel like I forgot something.”

“You tend to forget a lot of things.”

Kirby let go of Fluff’s hand to playfully shove him, which Fluff only chuckled in response. “I’m serious.” Kirby giggled. 

Fluff placed one nubby hand under the side of his face. “Well, if it’s about the dozen people you told that idea to on the way here, don’t worry about it! I informed them of the situation before I met up with you here.”

Kirby stared at his friend. “That’s why you took a bit?”

“Yeah!” Fluff’s smile faded a little when he met Kirby’s gaze. “...Did you think I just. Forgot about you?”

Kirby glanced away, feeling a little stupid. “Yin-Yarn’s influence sorta… told me you did.”

“...Aww, Kirby.”

Kirby looked back to see Fluff nuzzling his head against Kirby’s. “I meant what I said back in Snow Land. I’d probably follow you no matter how dumb your idea is.” He seemed to get awkward when he caught Kirby looking at him, and he pushed himself away. “Knowing me, that is.”

Kirby smiled again.

“Dom has been in a… similar mindset to yours in a way, but what he said back there was… kinda true.” Fluff explained, his face clearly showing how awkward he was. The purple blush emphasized it. “I have been… a little to say, ‘obsessed’ with you since our original adventure.”

The pink puffball giggled, the heat seemed to get hit with gasoline. “Hey, I used to sleep holding my magic sock.”

That caused Fluff to bust out laughing. “Seriously?!”

“Yeah! That’s how I lost it in the first place! One night it just fell underneath my bed!”

Fluff laughed. “If only the way I had lost it was as interesting.”

Kirby hopped down the last fleet of stairs, turning and waiting for Fluff to slowly walk down it, glancing at each step before he actually stepped. 

“...Yin-Yarn got me thinking, how  _ did  _ you-”

“Can I confess something, now that we agreed about opening up more?!”

Kirby was a bit taken aback when Fluff suddenly blurted out in the middle of his sentence, but he smiled widely and forgot about his own question. “You can tell me anything!” he reassured.

Fluff turned his whole body towards Kirby, grabbing both of the boy’s pink little hands. Kirby felt himself get even more warm, almost like he was swimming through lava. And a weird feeling made Kirby actually consider if he’d rather be in that situation. 

When the prince leaned closer to him, Kirby concluded that yes, he would.

“I didn’t obsess… for no reason.” Fluff spoke out, glancing to the floor. His face was completely purple at this point, and seemed to have something stuck in his throat. “And I didn’t look up to you for no reason either.”

“Well, it’s not out of the ordinary.” Kirby shrugged. “I feel like it’s normal for friends to look up to each other!”

“No- Kirby just let me speak.” Fluff sighed, his eyebrows furrowing. Kirby was a bit disappointed he couldn't see that un-narrowed face anymore. “It wasn’t in a friend way. Not even a best friend way.”

“...In a family way? I look up to Bandana Dee as a older brother-”

“No.” Fluff grunted, as if he was almost hurt by Kirby. Which concerned the boy greatly. Fluff glanced at Kirby’s face, letting Kirby almost get lost in Fluff’s coffee brown eyes. 

Kirby tilted his head to the side.

“Kirby… When we first met, I was immediately swept off my feet... Literally, the second monster tried to eat me.” Fluff’s smarty tangent made Kirby laugh. “A-Anyways, I had never met someone like you before. You were the happiest, bravest, and most heroic person I ever met. You still are now! It’s any royals dream to meet someone like you.” With every word, he seemed to get more confident. “Not only that, but you ate one of the last metamatoes. It was almost like fate…”

The pink puffball was about to ask about that last part, but decided to wait. 

Whatever Fluff was trying to say, Kirby wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stay put for much longer.

“I-I know that sounds silly, but it’s truly what I thought!” Fluff laughed at himself. “Enough of dodging the bullet. I’ve been doing that for way too long already.” Fluff gripped Kirby’s hands, before shakingly shouting it. “KIRBY, I LO-”

He wasn’t able to finish, because before he could a loud almost ear damaging scream was heard, and caused the ground beneath them to shake. It was enough for Fluff to replace whatever ‘lo’ word he was going to say with “GAH!” instead. 

Kirby and Prince Fluff seemed to both fall at each other at the same time, before they glanced to the other. They both instantly pushed away. Fluff even took a few steps away just to not have it happen again. 

“H-hold that thought.” Fluff commented, even thought he was the one that was previously speaking. “We better check that out.”

Kirby nodded, relieved to finally stop feeling burned. 

The two puffballs ran in the direction they heard the ruckus, both transforming into their car forms to pick up more speed. Kirby took notice that the sound was leading them to the center of Hot Land, where the giant volcano stood. 

That felt familiar, but Kirby couldn’t place why.

Well, their answer came the moment they stood near the village, because another Patch Landian rammed into Fluff in a panic. Fluff made a squeak that sounded a little like a car honk, before toppling over. 

Kirby skidded to a halt, feeling a weight fall off his head, and turned to his friend. “Fluff!” 

Kirby went to help the prince back up, when the Patch Landian realized who he ran into. “Kirby!”

Kirby turned his attention, and almost flinched recognizing the Octagon shaped Patch Landian. He waved a little, even if he couldn’t find his smile. “Hi!”

“I did what you asked- but I kinda- made her mad-” The Patch Landian gasped out, clearly out of breath. 

Kirby’s eyes went wide as Fluff stood up. “You disturbed Hot Wings!?”

The Patch Ladnain seemed a little threatened that he not only ran into royalty, but made him mad. “Er- yeah?”

Fluff glared at Kirby, who responded. “I remember what I forgot now.”

“Oh sweet cotton.”

Kirby frowned, looking at the prince. He clearly began to pace, and his eyes gave away overthinking. The prince fidgeted with his broken crown, before glancing back to the Octagon. “Get to the direction of Treat Land. Warn everyone else you see to do the same.”

“Yes, your highness!”

As the Octagon left, Kirby felt Fluff’s frustration. “I’m sorry, Fluff.”

“No- if it’s anyone’s fault here, it’s mine.” Fluff groaned, looking back to Kirby. He pointed to his left, which Kirby noticed was the hat he was just wearing. It definitely fell off after how fast he stopped. 

Kirby picked up the hat and let it form back on him as Fluff spoke. “If we don’t do something, Hot Wings will take her rage out on other objects. That could be the village, or citizens.”

The prince began to pace back and forth, his hands near the side of his face. He began to mutter, to which Kirby couldn’t quite hear what exactly it was. But, he could tell the prince was thinking up a plan. A real one.

“...That could work...maybe…”

The prince stopped pacing, and focused back on Kirby. “...That crazy idea you had, what was it again?”

Kirby was surprised, but answered. “I think it was to get some fire with this hat, and burn the Yin-Yarn needles…” His blue eyes shifted in confusion. “But, like you said. That’s dangerous.”

Fluff nodded. “Well… she’s already awake.” he blinked, unsure of himself. “And my plan already would have us chasing her halfway to Quilty Square. We could at least try it.”

“But-”

“Kirby, we’ve dealt with worse.” Fluff smiled a little. “It’s dangerous, yes, but we both have done dangerous before. And, besides, all plans start off crazy, right? The difference between the idea then versus now, is that with a few tweaks the recklessness could be more safe. For everyone.”

Kirby blinked, before nodding. He  _ did _ do a reckless idea to steal a chest because of cake. “You sure?”

“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have suggested it… but it  _ is _ still crazy.”

Kirby stared at Fluff, before smiling. “I used to do crazy a lot.”

“I know.”

Fluff grabbed Kirby’s hand again, nodding. 

“So, here is the, quite crazy, plan…”

✥✥✥

Driving as fast as he could, Kirby glanced from side to side, hoping to catch the sight of the familiar bird. He stopped when he seemed to finally find her, perched on top of a building that was starting to catch flames. 

Hot Wings let out another screech of fury as she tried to swipe at a small Patch Landian family, who were huddling together in fear. Thanks to Kirby’s timing, he was able to hit her with a yarn ball and grab her attention before she could actually hurt the citizens.

Kirby smiled, waving. “Hi Hot Wings! It’s been a few years!”

Hot Wings stared right into Kirby’s soul, to which Kirby almost was confused seeing them that same shade of purple from their last confrontation. Back then, Kirby thought that meant she was being controlled by Yin-Yarn.  


But the attitude made it make a little more sense.  


Yin-Yarn probably didn't even possess her like the others, just aggravated her enough to attack Kirby and Fluff last time.

He took a quick glance to the Patch Landian family, forming a warm smile to comfort them. “Get to the direction of Treat Land, I’ll handle this!”

“Oh, bless you Kirby!” One spoke, before they took off.

Hot Wings looked back to see her past targets had disappeared, which made her even more mad. She whipped her head back at Kirby, her button eyes narrowed into slits. Her wings that were engulfed with flames flared up, and she looked about ready to pounce. 

“Let’s race, Hot Wings!” He giggled, turning and becoming a car again. “First one to the Big-Bean Vine wins!”

As soon as he began to drive off, Hot Wings screamed again and took off to follow him. Kirby forced himself to not turn back in her direction, knowing that he could easily trip over something if he didn’t pay attention. 

Seeing Temper Temple in the distance, Kirby was close to getting hit by an Embird that Hot Wings had made. He was lucky to overhear the baby phoenix, and jumped out of the way before it could strike him with flames. 

Kirby made a quick glance to the direction they were going, knowing full well that Fluff would be out of Hot Land at this point.

_ “First off, this plan requires us to split up. You’ll be in charge of Hot Wings, since you have not only a whip, but a ravel ability.” _

Now that he had stopped, Hot Wings had the puffball backed into the walls of Temper Temple. Her bright yellow claws tried to grab Kirby, but he was quick to avoid them. He let the knitting needles form in his hands, creating a large yarn ball out of thin air. 

Hot Wings seemed surprised at this, and even more when the yarn ball hit her square in the chest, where her most vulnerable spot laid. She flew back, her flames dying out for only a moment, but she stayed stunned for even longer. 

Kirby took this opportunity to create a bigger gap between them again. Once he knew that Hot Wings had snapped out of it, he blew raspberries to get her furious again. Seeing the bird’s eyes twitch gave Kirby the sign that it worked.

And as soon as she stood back on her two feet, Kirby began to run away again.

Kirby knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep this running for long. He might’ve had a lot of energy, but he still was someone who napped multiple times a day for a year. 

Good thing Fluff knew that too. 

Passing by the racetracks in Pyramid Sands, going through the rest of the ruins was found to be more of a trouble than Kirby thought it would’ve. The place had quick sand and tornados. He didn’t find the tornados an issue on the way here earlier, but then again he wasn’t exactly himself that time.

Not only that, but the tornados would stop Hot Wings too. It didn’t twirl the giant bird around like it did for Kirby, but it would extinguish her flames for a bit. 

Jumping across the last fleet of quicksand, Kirby smiled when he saw the border to Grass Land not too far away. He couldn’t go there just yet, though. The flames would catch onto the grass. 

He needed to wait for someone.

Kirby summoned another large yarn ball, and threw it in the exact same area he had last time. Hot Wings seemed to learn from last time, and swung her large fire wings at it before it would hit her. The yarn ball ignited into flames, and landed on the sand below.

Kirby looked at the yarn ball, which melted the acrylic yarn Hot Land had for sand. The wool yarn ball he had thrown was slowly burning, and Kirby made sure to keep his distance from it.

The pink little puffball made sure to dodge more Embirds, grabbing one with his whip. He noticed his whip slowly darken from the heat, and he made sure to throw the Embird at Hotwings before it would spread fire to his whip.

Once Hot Wings was stunned again, Kirby glanced around the border, looking for a familiar Patch Landian. Did Fluff not get to the castle in time?!

“KIRBY!”

Kirby smiled widely when he saw the purple square body of Mara, running as fast as she could over to him. Kirby ran towards her as well, meeting her at the border.

Mara caught her breath, before revealing the glowing Star Shooter Metamortex orb she was carrying. “Fluff told me to- huff- bring you this.” Mara spoke out.

Kirby nodded. “Thanks Mara! But you gotta turn back now.”

“What?! I sprint all the way here just to-” But Mara’s eyes went wide when she noticed the giant bird that was now recovering from her stun. “Oh- I’ll inform the prince. Good luck!” 

Kirby waved as he grabbed the Metamortex orb, letting the orb absorb him almost like his own inhale ability. “MAKE SURE TO TELL ANGIE I’M SORRY FOR HURTING HER!”

“WHY DID YOU- OKAY???”   
  


Kirby clenched his eyes shut, feeling his body go fuzzy and numb, and by the time he opened his eyes again his arms had disappeared and he was in the familiar form of a Starship. 

In a way, he was happy to have gotten this specific Metamortex orb, because it was very similar to a copy ability. So, he would take less time to remember what to do. Instead, he focused on what Fluff told him.

_ “Mara’s the fastest guard I have. I’ll have her meet you at Big-Bean Vine with the Star Shooter Metamortex. Once you have it, get Hot Wings to chase you towards the top.” _

_ “Wait, Fluff, isn’t the top of that place where-” _

_ “Exactly.” _

When Hot Wings began to start flying again, Kirby got her attention. “I’m close to winning~!”

Hot Wings let out another screech, and began to fly after Kirby. Kirby took notice of a couple of branches of the beanstalk and the grass below caught on fire, but Kirby just told himself to worry about it later. Fluff emphasized this plan to all be about time. 

He also couldn’t help but notice the giant bird actively avoiding puddles of water that came from the nearby Rainbow Falls, which reminded Kirby on why Fluff didn’t say to just take her there.

Flying up and up near the beanstalk, Kirby made sure to shoot some stars if Hot Wings were to get close. Sadly, they didn’t seem to do much damage to her, only making her stop for a second. 

Luckily, the metamortex transformation gave him more speed, and he saw the clouds above getting closer and closer.

Hot Wings let out a screech, and Kirby responded with a shout. “IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, I NEED YOUR HELP!”

Hot Wings summoned more Embirds, which Kirby expected to come towards him like they usually did. However, they instead went and landed on the beanstalk instead.

Kirby’s eyes went wide, and he shot stars at each of them. He watched as the fires melted the yarn like it did with the sand in Hot Land. Luckily, it wasn’t much, since the Embirds unraveled when he shot at them.

Kirby turned his attention back to Hot Wings, only to see her dashing right in front of him. Kirby wasn’t able to move in time, causing him to get bashed by Hot Wings’ head. 

The attack caused Kirby to fly backwards, and begin to fall. Kirby began to panic, realizing the force was able to get him to lose the transformation. 

For a moment, the rushing adrenaline made him oblivious, but as he fell and met eye contact with Hot Wings, he began to not only feel a headache, but the feeling of getting burned near his right eye. 

Kirby patted his face very quickly, and sighed when he realized the fall made the fire extinguish before it could do much. However, the pain stayed when he went into a parachute form. 

Hot Wings seemed furious at this, and began to fly towards Kirby again, letting out another screech.

Kirby looked up to see another figure begin to fly as well, and he smiled.

_ “There’s few that can force Hot Wings back to her nest, and those are the same size if not bigger than she is. He’s not fire resistant, but he does have sharp teeth.” _

_ “Are you sure he’ll help?” _

_ “Trust me, he will. The dragon we fought all that time ago wasn’t Grass Land’s guardian.” _

Before Hot Wings could lay a talon on Kirby, a large green blur rammed his way at the phoenix. His teeth made Hot Wings wail in pain, before she pushed herself away. 

Kirby was about to say something, before the blur flew over to him. Kirby landed on top of the yarn beasts’ back within seconds.

His bright blue eyes sparkled when the dragon looked back to him, seeing nothing but friendliness. “Hi Fangora!” He giggled, waving his circular hand. 

Fangora nodded in response, before turning his attention back to Hot Wings. He let out a roar, to challenge the phoenix in a way.

Hot Wing’s button eyes narrowed again, and she let out a screech back. She dashed over to the two, to which Fangora only made a gust of wind with his small wings. The wind pushed her back, and even blew out her flames for a moment.

Fangora let out a few growls as she ignited her wings again, flying in front of the green dragon. Hot Wings looked like she was going to attack again, until Fangora roared once more. And when she saw Kirby climb on top of the dragon’s head, she knew she was outmatched. 

Not wanting to get to the point of near unravelling again, she let out a grunt and flew back to Hot Land’s Volcano, her fire being seen like a lamp, and after a minute it disappeared from Kirby’s vision.

Kirby let out a cheer. “WHO-HOO!”

He let Fangora fly down to the ground, before he jumped off the dragon. Kirby felt his head, making sure the ravel ability hat was still on him, before he beamed an adorable smile at Fangora. “Thank you!”

Fangora’s button eyes closed as he nodded, his small little green tail wagging as Kirby padded the side of his face. 

It wasn’t until after that that Kirby suddenly remembered. “Agh- I was supposed to get some of her fire before she left!” He spoke to himself.

Fangora stared at Kirby as he frowned, before he got an idea. “Wait- Fangora you have fire breath!”

Fangora blinked, tilting his head to the side. 

Kirby summoned a yarn ball with the ability hat. “Before you go back to your home, could you ignite this, please?”

_ “If I’m being honest, this plan is still really reckless. But if I warn everyone beforehand, no one should get hurt.” _

_ “Alright! So, what after Fangora?” _

_ “Get the fire, and meet me in Fountain Gardens.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist, this whole story was just an excuse to write Fangora as a big puppy dog instead of a ferocious dragon the games made him out to be.  
> Honestly, still kinda upset that Fangora only shows up in this chapter and not any others.


	16. Chapter 16

“THANK YOU, FANGORA!”

Fountain Gardens, got it!

Kirby took a deep breath and began to run once again. This time, he wasn’t being chased by a giant phoenix however, instead it was time.

Jeez, he was running a lot this trip.

Anyways, he made sure to glance at the big yarn ball every few moments, feeling its heat so close to his forehead. It’s tangerine colored yarn already looked darker from the angle Kirby could look without his hat falling off. 

Kirby instinctively summoned the two long needles, letting the yarn shift and balance before finding a good spot to lay against both needles at the same time. He wouldn’t be able to morph into a car while holding these needles, but considering how easily fire could burn out, that was most likely for the best.

Either way, it would definitely slow his travel a bit.

Fluff expressed how Rainbow Falls would be a challenge to travel across with a literal torch in your hands. Which, the name itself explained why. Majority of the place was filled with puddles and waterfalls, and the slightly rocky landscape made it easy to slip.

Kirby found himself almost slipping multiple times, and dodging waterfalls was found to be very difficult with your hands full. He was surprised to leave the last slippery rock and see that the fire was still alive and well. 

Even more luck was on the pink puffball’s side, because the specific path he was taking didn’t lead him to the Weird Woods, and only above Mole Hole. Not only is there a lot of flammable yarn close together in Weird Woods, but the place is generally dark. And spooky. And Mole Hole was filled with just as much flammable cotton, that was only inside the hole itself. 

The blue eyes sparkled when the sunlight hit them, causing Kirby to turn and pay attention to the ground below him. But as the view of Weird Woods left from the side of his vision, he couldn’t help but smile a little.

Everything was going almost too well.

Besides the little slip up he made at the beanstalk, everything had worked out just like Fluff said it would. The prince seemed self-conscious about this idea, saying how it was still really reckless. Even though he had to hear Kirby saying an idea and acting like that was enough to act on. 

The reminder of that made Kirby frown again. He never thought he’d be more against a certain thought then the fight with Void Termina. With what happened back there not only gave him the same amount of whiplash thinking about it, but the guilt just seemed a dozen times worse.

Fluff said it was okay though.

Kirby smiled a bit, jogging through the last horde of trees and seeing the familiar fountains and ponds in the distance. 

Fluff was not only willing to have himself open up, but said they could do it together.

He was such an amazing friend.

Kirby felt his face go hot once again, moving one needle to the second hand. With one hand empty and everything else furiously trying it’s best to balance, he felt his face.

Nothing.

It didn’t make sense, he knew this feeling was from somewhere. But he couldn’t remember where he felt it before, nor why it happens anyways!

Kirby sighed, sitting down on the stone flooring, staring as the fountains spurted water every few seconds. He made sure to check on the fire yarn ball too, just in case. 

Fluff was right, he did need to focus on his own feelings sometimes, too.

But he couldn’t tell Fluff about this. Not yet.

He could only do so once he knew what it was.

...He could tell Meta Knight.

Kirby, nodded, smiling again. No maybe this time. When this was all over, he would call the elder.

But he forgot about that thought when he realized the prince wasn’t here yet, and no clue of when he’d come.

He would be here!

It was going to be fine.

Kirby was waiting at the meet up spot for way too long, that the sun left the sky minutes ago. And Kirby started to get a little impatient and tired. He secured the yarn again, before beginning to walk ahead. He glanced from side to side, hoping to see the prince arriving like he said he would.

“Fluff?”

He called out, and the moment he did he saw a nearby bush rustling. Kirby smiled, looking at the yarn ball again before going back to the bush.

See, Kirby? Everything was fine. The plan was a complete success-

But instead of the blue puffball, a blue diamond figure rushed out. The smaller diamonds with green smaller specks spiraled, and Kirby recognized Beadrix instantly.

“Kirby!” Beadrix nearly rammed into the boy, looking at him. Kirby grew tense seeing the look of fear in her eyes. She looked Kirby up and down. “Y-you look awful, darling!” She commented, breathing heavily.

Kirby didn’t respond to the comment, but rather looked around seeing a bunch of other path landians floating away. He whipped his attention back to Beadrix, and asked. “Where’s Fluff?!”

Beadrix’s lip trembled. “I-” she took in a shaky breath, before speaking again. "Well... something happened."  


✥✥✥

Kirby was running as fast he could to Quilty Square, still gripping the needles with fire on them. He was convinced to leave the danger he had behind, but another thought told him he’d need it. 

It took him a moment to see Beadrix was following him, and as he reached the apartment buildings she spoke again. 

“I-It all happened so fast, I panicked! I don’t know where Zeke and Carrie are, I thought they were behind me!”

Kirby took a quick scan across the area, which seemed chaotic already. The air was super tense, and things already seemed trashed or broken, despite the area being empty. Kirby thought back to the many games of hide and seek, before turning to a little bush that had many posters littered around, the ink away from Kirby’s view.

Using one of his feet, he pushed the bush aside to hear Carrie scream. He stepped back, seeing the circle curled around Zeke in fear. The moment Zeke saw it was Kirby instead of a threat, he floated as best as he could out of the bush without leaving the crying Carrie.

“Zeke! You’re okay!” Beadrix exclaimed, giving the two hugs as Kirby glanced from side to side.

“What’s happening?!” he asked, trying his best to keep the flames away from the three.

It was surprisingly Carrie who answered. “Fluff told us to be prepared- h-he said he would be taking Yin-Yarn somewhere!”

Kirby nodded. “He told me that, too.”

“Dom got really mad- he wouldn’t listen to the prince- a-and- it wasn't like Dom at a-all-” she broke into sobs, Zeke holding the circle close. “I’m scared!”

Kirby smiled welcomly, even though he had so many questions and was panicking as well. That’s how he always would be. The shine of light to help people feel better. He would’ve hugged to comfort, but again. Torch in his hands. “It’s gonna be okay! Zeke, Beadrix get you three to Grass Land. I’ll fix this!” 

The two helped Carrie back up, and they nodded. “Be careful, and make sure the prince is too! Angie and Mara were with the prince, but-”

Kirby flinched when the familiar golden color of a soocher came bouncing their way, as if it had been thrown away from its first target. Yet, it was enough to scare the three patch landians again.

"Get going!" Kirby shouted.

He watched them lead Carrie away, before running towards the shopping area. That was when he began to hear more noises, and by the time he saw the familiar bells above the shops, a large bang made Kirby almost fall, and he had to quickly dodge out of the way when one of the bells fell down near him thanks to another summoned soocher.

Kirby felt the bell with his foot, seeing how it was not made of wool like the rest of the areas. It was one of the few items that wasn’t yarn, instead it being clay.

Kirby placed the yarn ball in the bell, happy to see it was able to fit. However, it mostly did because it had shrunk to the flames, and it wouldn’t be long before it was gone. Making another yarn ball, he put it right on top of the yarn before booking to the source of the soocher.

It seemed to have came from behind the stores...

The moment he made his way around the shop area, he saw Fluff being thrown into the wall, letting out a quiet wince. Kirby instinctively ran over to him, catching him before he could fall on his face. 

“Fluff! Are you-” 

Kirby wasn’t able to answer, because he caught a soocher coming their way. The puffball moved the two before they could get stabbed with its sharp arrow head, Kirby falling afterwards.

As Kirby lifted his head up, all he could hear was someone laughing. It sounded too familiar, yet at the same time it was different. When he looked up, all he could see was another familiar figure that was holding Yin-Yarn in his grasp.

Kirby so badly wanted to use one of Fluff’s swear words.

Forcing himself to his feet, he looked towards the other. “Dom-”

“We’ve already tried to talk him out of it!” Kirby glanced over to Angie as she tried to swing her spear at him, but he only pushed her aside. It was clear Angie didn’t want to hurt the guy. "He's blocked us out at this point!"  


Oh. Well, he’s fought possessed people before, it shouldn’t be too different, right?

Summoning his whip, he made a run towards Dom. He grabbed near the center of the man’s mustache, using it to throw him into the ground.

He felt that familiar pulling feeling, so he reminded himself he’d have to be careful with himself as well.

How did this even happen though?! Dom was completely sane earlier...

...He wasn't. He hadn't been.

Kirby slightly groaned. The assistant's temper made a _lot_ more sense now.

“Mara, Angie!” His blue eyes met theirs. “You don’t have to stay here! I’ll help him!”

But, he saw Mara shake her head. “I did nothing for Buster.” She grabbed her own spear, charging at Dom as he tried to get himself up. “I’m not doing that again!”

As she used her whip to hold him down, Angie replied. “I wouldn’t be able to as well.” She went and did the same thing. 

Kirby smiled, he couldn't exactly force them away. “Well, if you say so!” 

As the others struggled to keep Dom still, Kirby took the opportunity to use the whip. The whip gripped onto the nearest needle the moment he had thrown it. He was about to yank it away from Dom, when suddenly.

“WAIT!”

Kirby looked back to where he had left Fluff, and the moment he was distracted Dom threw Angie and Mara off of him. The two Patch Landians fell to the ground with a thud, and they both had to quickly recover to dodge Dom’s next attack.

The pink puffball stepped back, looking over to Fluff again. The prince seemed paralyzed, even though his form didn’t have damage at all. 

“Fluff…?”

He didn’t answer. Kirby was confused by how Fluff seemed to keep his eyes on Dom at all times, with the look of shock, frustration, and that gloom Kirby thought went away in the mix of the caramel color. 

Sure, having someone you know possessed is always an issue. He acted the exact same when Kirby was out of it too, except a little more confident since it hadn't happened completely yet.  


But Dom and Fluff always argued. Even before this trip. 

Kirby didn’t expect Fluff to be  _ this _ distressed.

And it certainly hurt him more than that fire injury from earlier.

“The last time this happened, t-they died.” Fluff stuttered out. “T-This is all my fault- I-I don’t want him-”

“Fluff!” Kirby put his hands on the sides of Fluff’s face, putting the prince’s attention to him. “He won’t.”

“The only way to stop it is to remove Yin-Yarn-”

“Maybe we can think of another way!” Kirby grabbed an approaching soocher with his whip before it could hit them. 

“Well, if you have that fire maybe…?” Fluff shook his head. “No. It wouldn’t work.” 

Kirby helped Fluff up, now that he seemed more encouraged to at least move. “We can’t leave him like this though. The fire’s nearby.”

“I should’ve done better. I knew he was at risk, yet I did nothing. I should’ve worked with him too. If I could talk him out of it like I did with you-” Fluff seemed to ramble at this point, and it hurt Kirby more. 

Kirby could only smile. “It’ll be okay, alright? I won’t let Dom die.” 

Fluff stared at Kirby, and even if he nodded, he didn’t seem fully convinced.

“What’s the plan?” Mara shouted out, bringing the edge of her spear to Dom in defense. 

Kirby thought, before a small idea came to mind. Well, it wasn’t entirely his idea. 

“Fluff, where’s that Maxim Tomato?”

“Er, it never left the kitchen…”

Kirby looked to Mara, dodging as Dom lunged at him. “Go get it, quickly! It looks like a Metamatoe!”

Mara didn’t seem sure at first, as if she didn’t want to leave. But, once she realized it wouldn’t exactly be doing ‘nothing’ towards the fight, she nodded and began to run off.

Dom quickly noticed, and Kirby had to throw a recently made yarn ball to prevent him from going after her. As Dom used the needles to block it, Angie tried to swipe at his mustache, to try and loosen up his grip. It didn’t work however, and it resulted in Dom throwing Angie aside.

Dom whipped his head back to Kirby. “I’m really getting  _ sick _ and  _ tired _ of you.”

Kirby was slightly surprised to hear Dom speak, didn’t seem too phased. After all, what he was saying wasn’t true. Right? It was just Yin-Yarn making him say it!  


As Dom made a couple of yarn monsters, Kirby finally saw Fluff attack. And with his own whip. He grabbed one of the newly created beasts before it could think it’s first thought, and threw it right at the royal assistant.

Kirby smiled, doing the exact same thing. If this were a completely different situation, he would’ve been happy to see Fluff reunited with his whip after so long.  


That seemed to make Dom more furious. “How badly do I have to try to keep you away?! I told you Fluff was busy, I explained it to him, I even hid the dang sock! Why couldn’t you just take the hint!?”

What.

Kirby blinked, glancing to Fluff. The blue prince just sighed as he got rid of the last yarn monster. 

Kirby couldn’t help but ask a question. “Is he...?”

“...Yeah…” Fluff grit his teeth. “I know, I know. I literally just went on about us opening up more. You can be mad at me!” He looked at Kirby guiltily. 

Kirby tilted his head. “But I’m not-”

“I swear, I was going to tell you about it when this was all over. I just didn’t want you to be upset at-”

As Dom shot multiple soochers at the two, Angie grabbed the both of them and flew them about a few feet above where they were standing, causing the soochers to crash into walls. A weird way to induce nostalgia. “Look, issues about telling people things aside, no offense your majesty,” She looked back and forth between Dom and the two puffballs that currently hung at her grip. “But he’s gaining more control by the minute, so if anyone has a plan, I suggest doing it now!” Her speaking sounded more hostile and stressed than Kirby expected, which definitely took him aback.

Kirby looked to Fluff, forgetting what just happened as he let out multiple coughs. The two nodded, and by the time Angie let the two go, they seemed to have agreed to something without actually speaking or coughing.  


Fluff grabbed a side of Dom with his whip, and made sure to throw him close to the shopping area. And even though he recovered quickly from the weak throw, Angie swung an attack at him to get him to stay there just for a second longer.

Throwing another yarn ball at him, Kirby went ahead and looked back at where the bell was laying. The flames had not only survived, but had spread to the yarn around it. A bunch of smoke had even escaped to the sky, which explained Kirby's coughing earlier.  


“...Whoops.”

Kirby used the whip to grab the yarn ball anyways. It darkened his whip as he saw Fluff hold Dom down with his own whip, and Angie flew to presumably help a returning Mara.

Once Kirby knew Fluff was out of harm's way, he threw the fireball straight at Dom. Even though he quickly used the needles as a shield, Dom still winced, and tried to pry the danger off him, but Kirby rushed at him before he could. Using his hands, he pushed the yarn ball in place, being careful on where his hands were.

Dom’s button eyes blazed as the fire began to spread to the needles, and to the bits of mustache that were holding it. He tried to push Kirby off, but that only resulted in Kirby tightening his grip. It didn't stop from the yarn ball moving though.  


“You mess up at everything, you really think this’ll work!?”

Kirby clenched his eyes shut, only to open them to see Fluff right besides him. He had moved from where he was, and was now helping besides him. With the prince’s help, the yarn ball wasn’t moving anywhere.

Fluff didn’t respond to Dom at all, only gripping his own eyes shut. The two had to make sure not to pull away until it happened, even when the fire was shrinking the yarn and started nearing their little numbs. Dom started letting go, and yet they still didn’t stop. Not until...

CRACK!

When they heard that Kirby finally threw the yarn away, the speed immediately extinguishing it. He had to shake away the fire from his hands as well, which had a few sparks land on it. When he looked back to Dom the two needles were let go completely. Both needles had been snapped in half thanks to the flames, and Kirby saw the purple and yellow eyes slowly fade away as Dom collapsed onto the ground.  


“Dom!” 

Kirby sighed in relief before he felt Fluff run past him, right to the assistant. Dom didn’t seem to be moving right afterward, only with shaky breaths every once in a while. Fluff shook the circle a few times, a few tears starting to leak. “Dom, you gotta-”

Kirby turned his attention to the sky, seeing Angie land with Mara in her grip. Perfect timing. 

Mara was breathing heavily as she held the maxim tomato. “That’s it- no more making me run! I’m done!”

The pink puffball grabbed the fruit from the square Patch Landian, before running towards Fluff. He shoved it at him, to which Fluff seemed confused. 

“Kirby, this is not the time to snack!” Fluff snapped.

“No! Feed it to Dom!” Kirby explained. “It’ll heal him!” 

It was so lucky that Kirby had brought that. Even if it was for Fluff…That made Kirby a little disappointed. Well, Dom needed it more!

Fluff listened to Kirby, placing it in the male’s mouth before looking at Kirby. “You didn’t tell me it healed…”

“Kinda forgot about it.”

Once Dom’s breathing became regular again, Kirby sighed again and let himself fall onto the ground, finally letting go of the ravel ability hat. The hat jumped off the boy’s head, bouncing a bit before fading away completely. 

Fluff seemed just as relieved, and ended up laying right next to him. 

Angie and Mara floated over to the two puffballs, Angie going over to Dom while Mara went to the prince.

“You okay, your majesty?”

“Fantastic.” the prince responded with a hint of sarcasm, not moving his face away from the ground.

Angie looked to the now asleep assistant, checking his pulse. “Amazing… he doesn’t seem injured at all!”

“Mhm…” Kirby nodded, feeling tiredness hitting him now that the action was over, and his adrenaline was lowering.  


“Could you… take him to the nurse?” Fluff muttered out, moving his head.

“Yes, your majesty.” Angie responded, before grabbing Dom with her legs, and taking off. 

Once she had fully become a golden blur, Mara looked away. “I’ll go tell everyone that it's over.” She spoke, trying to be serious. She began to float off, shouting a “YES!” when she thought she was a good distance away.

Kirby laughed at his friend’s response. Knowing how close she was to Buster, she probably now had that opportunity to move on.

Everyone did.

Kirby felt ecstatic. He really had done it. He got rid of Yin-Yarn.

That meant he had made everyone happy again!

...Actually. Not quite. There was just-

Fluff sat up to face him. “I can’t believe that  _ actually _ worked…”

“...Me too.”

“I thought it was too crazy… but besides some damage around the place it actually broke Yin-Yarn… It  _ broke _ them.” Fluff blinked. “That’s so weird to say...I never thought it’d happen.”

Kirby nodded subtly, yawning.  


Fluff glanced around from side to side, before groaning. “Well, I certainly need to repair this place… and Hot Land too if there was damage.” He fidgeted with his broken crown. “And check on Snow Land, see if the yarn monsters will disappear…  _ and  _ do it all before that day- oh sweet cotton.” 

Fluff let himself collapse again, groaning as he covered his face. 

Kirby was silent for a few moments, before smiling widely at the sky. “Nothing one more week of help can’t handle!”

Fluff let out a laugh. “Kirby, you need to go home!”

Kirby shrugged, Fluff closing his eyes rather tiredly. “Well, I promise this is the last extension.”

“You swear it?”

“...You really want to get rid of me?”

“N-no! I wouldn’t have suggested us working on our problems together if I did!”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

"You're an idiot."

"Sure, but that's why we're friends!"

"...I hate that you're right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was... an intense chapter?  
> I hate writing fighting scenes, so I completely understand if you guys don't like it!  
> And this might seem like an ending to some, but we still got a few more chapters! Just because Yin-Yarn is gone doesn't mean the story is complete just yet. I guess you can say the next few chapters are a pre-epilogue type of thing for Kirby to finally do some small things to finish his vow, with the last chapter being the true epilogue? I know that sounds weird for a story, but this is how I planned it.
> 
> Also,,, 1k hits?! What?! Thank you so much!


	17. Chapter 17

“You ready?” 

Kirby hung himself off the side of the wall, nodding giddily at the blue blur a few feet below him. 

“Okay, on the count of three!”

Kirby gripped his whip with one hand, and Fluff’s with another. Both hands screamed at Kirby to let go, but he forced himself to stay put.

“One, two…”

“THREE!”

Fluff yanked his whip with all his might, pulling Kirby as well. Within a few tugs, Kirby’s whip yanked some wool off the wall, which resulted in a big chunk of the wall falling apart. Kirby let himself float down back to the ground of Space Land, landing right next to his best friend. He shook his hands as the release of pressure brought him some unwanted pain, but was careful not to remove the little white yarn bandages that Fluff insisted he kept on them.

He also said something about the side of his face, but Kirby didn’t feel like looking like a pirate.

“Can’t believe that worked.”

Kirby posed victoriously. “See? I have good ideas!”

Fluff shoved Kirby in response, letting out his cute little laugh. “Yeah, whatever.”

The fallen wall in front of them was silent, before junk was pushed aside to reveal a familiar squared Patch Landian. Shaking off some dust, she floated over to the two puffballs. “Thank you for the help, your majesty.”

Kirby smiled as she bowed. Even if she was acting serious, you could see the happiness in her eyes, and even the way she was acting. It wasn’t perfect happiness, but it was way better than what Kirby first walked into. 

“You think you and the rest of the guards can handle the rest?” Fluff asked, clearing his throat a bit as if to release anxiety.

“Of course.” Mara nodded.

“Great.” Fluff clapped his little circle hands together, wincing a bit. He seemed to have forgotten that he too had bandages on his hands. “Kirby and I will be heading back to Quilty Square, then.” Moving his hands aside, he left one in Kirby’s direction. “Shall we?”

Giggling excitedly at that warm feeling, Kirby nodded.

Waving at Mara, the two began to head their way back to the station. Space Land looked just like it had before, with its posters and buildings, but was definitely more crowded. The Patch Landians were even talking to one another, and seemed to be pointing at the many posters that had been there since Kirby had first arrived.  


Maybe Kirby should actually read those.

The boys were quick to make it to the station, talking to the Patch Landian there before finally getting on the coaster itself, the two deciding to sit next to each other rather than on two different spots. After all, their friendship was back to normal! 

Bad idea, since they were pretty squished together.

All they could hear was the rushing of wind before Fluff spoke again. “It’s been five days… and I still have a hard time thinking how Yin-Yarn is gone....”

Kirby’s little head bobbed, smiling. 

Instead of having a hard time believing it however, Kirby was ecstatic instead. Patch Land was finally seeming to transition back to its old self. Sure, Hot Wings and Dom caused some problems, but the most were some minor injuries, which was lucky. The needles broke, the yarn monsters unraveled after their source of power was gone, and the majority of citizens seemed less stressed and scared!

...If that was the case, then why was Kirby still here?

Well, he had one more thing he had to do before the next two days were up. 

“Okay… what do I have to do next…” Fluff muttered. “Wall, check. Still need to repair Snow Land though… that could be done after my stupid coronation.”

…

Wait.

_ Coronation?! _

Nevermind, there were two things Kirby needed to do. 

He might not know what that means, but it sounds important.

Before he could question his prince friend, the puffball glanced over to him. “How about we talk while we wait to get to the castle?" he seemed to continue before Kirby could answer. "Have you had any of those thoughts about Void Termina?”

Kirby instantly forgot about that c word. “No, not really! I did have some thoughts about Yin-Yarn, though.”

Fluff nodded. “About the needles in general or the almost getting possessed thing?”

“...Yeah.”

Fluff went silent, trying to guess what Kirby meant. He guessed correctly though. “Hey, it could’ve happened to anyone. Dom’s a good example to that.” Fluff comforted, leaning against Kirby. “But I guess I can relate, I kinda blame myself for it.”

Kirby could tell they both weren’t used to saying these things.

...

“Uh…” Fluff glanced away. “How’s your hands and face?”

Kirby glanced to his little nubs, picking at the little bandages. “Still hurt.”

Fluff sighed, glancing at his own bandages. 

The rest of the trip seemed to be silent after that. And fast. Kirby only felt like he was staring at the space-like sky for a few minutes before their final roller coaster came to a stop. And Kirby had to shake both himself and Fluff out of their dazes.

Fluff stretched himself as the two neared the border to Quilty Square. “I need to check in with the guards in training, do you… want to help me teach them?” Fluff asked, albeit a little nervously.

Kirby was about to agree, until he remembered something. “I can come by later.” He smiled widely, closing his bright blue eyes in the process. “I want to check in with Dom first!”

This way he could kill two birds with one stone.

...Not literally, of course.

He just heard Meta Knight say that once.

“Ah, well he’s still in the nurse’s room, and will probably still be there until you leave.” Fluff seemed to frown at that. Kirby knew it was more than his friend wanting to hang out with him. Truth was, Fluff and Dom hadn’t even seen each other since that event, let alone talked to each other. Even if Kirby himself hadn’t visited Dom yet, he felt that Dom and Fluff specifically needed to talk, after that look Kirby saw Fluff have during that fight. 

The more he thought about it, the more it reminded him of his own reaction when Meta Knight was taken over by Yin-Yarn all those years ago, except less tears.

That was why Kirby needed to visit Dom, well that and one more reason.

The two nuzzled their way goodbye, before Kirby headed through the shopping center. He took notice about two shops being closed before he paused.

...Where  _ was _ that place again?

He walked towards his own apartment, glancing around past the crowds of Patch Landians. He remembered Angie coming near the apartment buildings when she took Dom there, but then again, he didn’t really pay attention when she was leaving. But surely, it was somewhere here!

“Watch the flowers!”

Kirby looked at the little flower saplings around, moving his foot before he could step on one. He didn’t realize how close he had gotten to Zeke’s little garden. Looking back towards the entrance of his apartment, he released his iconic smile as Zeke waved at him. “Hi Zeke!”

“Let me guess, looking for the doctors?” The brown patch landian floated a little forward, looking around as if he had lost something.

“How did you know?” Kirby asked, stepping towards a little bush of roses.

“Had a feeling, you  _ are _ Kirby after all.”

Carrie popped out of the little bush Kirby was looking at, giving Kirby a little spook. The girl yawned as if she had fallen asleep in there. “Oh, hello Kirby!”

Kirby waved.

“Carrie!” Zeke helped the girl out of the bush, eyes furrowed in annoyance. “What did I tell you about your body shape slightly stopping the amount of nutrition the flowers get when you sleep in the bush?!” Kirby didn’t understand a single thing he said. But Zeke’s expression changed when he looked back to Kirby. “The doctor’s pad is south from here, you know that lone building close to the shopping area?” Zeke explained. 

Kirby’s eyes shined. “Oh, thank you Zeke!”

“Take these flowers with you!” Carrie bounded across to the puffball, handing Kirby a bundle of roses that appeared like a magic trick. “Zeke grew them, and Dom might appreciate some!”

Zeke seemed unsure about her offering his flowers, but the pink puffball grabbed them softly, flinching a bit from pressure. “I’m sure he’d love them!”

Waving once again, Kirby went the way Zeke described, going back towards the shopping area. He was glad those two were doing a lot better. Even if they acted like before, their aura was definitely different. And the little actions, like Zeke planting flowers again and Carrie seeming a little more energetic, made it more clear.

Kirby found the little pad quickly, skipping up the little steps excitedly. As he neared the door, he saw a familiar poster hanging close to the door. 

He was about to ignore it like he had been this whole time. But the reminder of citizens getting excited about it peaked his curiosity. It must be exciting if people were talking about it. So he grabbed it with his empty, sore hand before entering the building. As the door shut behind him, he looked at the piece of paper.

_ ‘Coronation of Prince Fluff the 3rd, starting the evening of the next full moon.’ _

Corn… what?

Wait, it must be that word Fluff was talking about earlier.

Huh… it really was on the poster this whole time.

That was probably why Fluff didn’t tell him, he probably assumed he had read the posters earlier.

...Kirby should pay attention more.

Walking past the pastel colored counter where most people would ask for a specific room, he immediately began to creak open doors to look for the familiar royal assistant. After all, there was only this one hallway, he would get there eventually!

...Nothing in the first room.

Nothing in the second room.

Nothing in the third room.

Before he could express more pain and open the fourth room’s door, he heard another door open. He glanced to his right, seeing the familiar pale figures of Chaise and Loomis leaving out of a room about two doors down. 

Seeing their relieved faces, Kirby bounced in response. “He’s doing better?”

“You could say that.” Loomis responded. “Are you here to visit him?”

“Mhm!”

Loomis left the door open as Kirby walked inside, glancing towards the corner of the room. He noticed Dom just kneeled against the blue bed, his button eyes shut as if he was truly resting. Little pale tables sat around the bed, the majority of them having nothing on top of them.

“Well, he’s still a bit tired.” Chaise shrugged a bit, his blue hat tilting to the side. “We gotta get back to our work, we’ll see you later?”

Kirby waved once again, letting the two leave before Kirby looked back to Dom. He padded towards the little bed, his feet being the only source of sound in the room.

Going on his tippy toes, he placed the roses and poster onto the nearest table, making sure to not hurt himself or the flower petals.

“Hello to you too, Kirby.”

Kirby was surprised to hear a sarcastic remark, and instantly jumped on top of the light blue fabric on the bed. “Morning, Dom!”

Dom blinked his eyes, for the first time on this little trip he didn’t seem furious at Kirby, and not wanting him around. Instead, he just looked tired and conflicted. 

“How are you feeling? Probably better than me, since you ate that Maxim Tomato.”

Dom just shrugged with his nonexistent shoulders. “Why are you here?”

That was quick.

“Well,” Kirby sat down, rubbing the side of his face. Bad idea, because he winced afterwards and his smile left. “I wanted to talk to you about… what happened.”

“...”

Kirby glanced towards the open window in the room, feeling its small breeze. “We were both under Yin-Yarn’s influence at one point, and I know they can make you say things...but Fluff did confirm it so I was going to ask-”

“If you’re asking about the magic sock,” Kirby glanced over, seeing the older male sighing. He seemed to be regretting something. “I did throw it away… I thought the prince wouldn’t find it in Fountain Gardens.”

Kirby nodded, even if he knew he had done it already. And he felt like the back of his head already knew why. Yet, he asked anyways. “...Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I was under the needle’s influence way longer than you were, and they tend to play with your thoughts and emotions....” Dom answered, Kirby laughing in response. Right.

“...It would be mature of me to apologize.”

Kirby stared ahead at Dom, a bit shocked to hear him say that. Even before this whole mess, Dom never seemed like someone to apologize that often. And seeing how Dom was taking a deep breath, Dom wasn’t used to it. “I may have come off… way ruder than I wanted to during your trip here. And throwing that sock away was definitely because I didn’t want you here. So, sorry.”

“Well, it wasn’t your fault! After all, Yin-Yarn can really mess with how you act-”

“I’m not just talking about Yin-Yarn.”

Kirby tilted his head as Dom sighed. “Look- I don’t know how to word this.” His eyes narrowed, reminding Kirby of Fluff’s neutral face. “Back during the fiasco with Buster, Fluff was really upset. He didn’t say it, but I knew he was missing you, and was waiting for you to show up. It was unreasonable, but I guess I got angry you stopped showing up.”

The puffball only fidgeted with his bandaged hands.

“I decided that if you were too busy to even visit, then you weren’t a good influence on the prince.” Dom explained, seeming more uncomfortable the more he talked. “Sure, we argued, but even with his parents around I always felt responsible for him. That’s no excuse for saying mean things to him, of course. What I’m saying though, is that even if Yin-Yarn made me throw away the portal sock, I wouldn’t have if I didn’t blame it all on you. So…” He gritted his teeth. “I’m sorry, I really am.”

Kirby was close to zoning out through that little speech, but that r word shook Kirby. It reminded him of something way too familiar…

...

He'll probably remember it later.

Jumping back to his feet, Kirby spun his hands towards the air. “Don’t worry about it, Dom! I forgive you! After all, as someone who was under their influence too, I understand!” Moving his hands back to his sides, Kirby spoke again. “And with that corn thing coming up, it would be better to be friends instead of risking fights, right?”

“Corn what?” Dom blinked, before loosening up. “Oh, you mean Fluff’s coronation?”

“Yeah, that!” Kirby smiled. “I just read about it, what is that?”

“...You  _ just _ read it?”

“I wasn’t bothered with reading the posters before.”

“Figures.” The elder Patch Landian sighed. “When the king and queen die, their heir to the throne becomes ruler. Most of the time that’s their child. We had to wait for Prince Fluff to come of age before this, however. He even prolonged it a bit longer for reasons.” he explained. “So, basically, he’ll be a king in four days.”

Four days?!

Kirby was supposed to leave in two days!

“It’s actually great you brought that up, actually.” Dom smiled a little. “With my confinement, it put the preparations behind schedule.”

“Oh, I can help with that!” Kirby smiled. “What do you have to do? I’m sure it’ll be as easy as planning a party!”

“Not exactly.” Dom moved himself to sit up straighter. “Patch Land has a bit of traditions. One in particular most would expect to have you be a part of it.”

“Why is that?”

“Well… it requires the royal’s suitor, or future suitor.” Dom explained.

“Suitor?”

“Who the royal will marry.”

“I have a friend who is a king, he doesn’t have that-”

“NOT-” Dom clenched his eyes shut. “Sorry, I do not need to get mad… not every royal gets a suitor immediately. In Patch Land, however, suitors are usually picked quite early.”

“...So who’s Fluff’s suitor?” Kirby asked, feeling a weird feeling when saying that. Weird, why would he…?

“That’s where it gets tricky.” Dom started to fidget with his tie. “His majesty doesn’t exactly have one. But because of you eating a metamatoe all that time ago, a lot of people think  _ you’re _ his suitor.”

Kirby blinked, stepping back for a moment. “Oh.”

“You know… because the king and queen would eat one before actually getting crowned.” Dom cleared his throat. “Or, usually would.”

Oh.

_ That _ was what Kirby forgot about those Metamatoes!

...What's with Kirby and forgetting things...?

“Huh.”

“And, because the prince really likes you, he’d probably appreciate you being in that roll instead of anyone else. He already is anxious about it.” Dom seemed to imply something by the way he said ‘really likes you’, but Kirby didn’t notice.

Kirby smiled, pretty obliviously. “That makes sense!”

“...I thought you would’ve been more… questioning. Or, at least awkward.” 

“Why? We’re only friends!” Kirby giggled. 

...

“...You’re ridiculous.” If Dom had hands, he’d probably be facepalming.

✥✥✥

Okay.  Kirby was more awkward about it than he expressed to Dom.

Falling back on his star bed, Kirby covering his face into the glowing blankets as he groaned.

Why is he feeling this way?!

He could’ve sworn this was familiar! Yet, it seemed so different now.

Plus… he had a hard time even remembering how this was familiar.

If only he had better memory!

…

_ Bzzt Bzzt! _

Kirby’s face lifted from the bed, feeling a bit of annoyance. He remembered hear that noise just before the situation with Hot Wings… but what was it?!

_ Bzzt Bzzt! _

Kirby looked towards his little bag that had been sitting near his dresser since the beginning of this trip. Sliding off his bed, he opened the top to see what was giving off the noise.

It was his phone!

He almost forgot he had that.

It vibrated and glowed as Kirby grabbed it. He couldn’t help but wince grabbing it, opening it to see which contact was calling him.

Oh, Meta Knight was calling him!

Wonder why.

Was something happening in Dreamland?

Or maybe he was just saying hi.

Pressing the button with his sore nub, he smiled. “Hi, Meta-”

“Where in Novas name are you?!”

The snap in the elder’s voice made Kirby physically jump, dropping the phone instantly. The phone bounced off the fabric ground, before landing screen first onto the candy patterned floor Kirby was standing on. Kirby took a moment to calm himself down, and grabbed the phone again, pressing it to the side of his face.

“I should not have to call you dozens of times just for you to pick up! I had already gone off MY course because Dedede would not stop bugging me about you not being home for three weeks! Now, answer my question!”

Kirby fell onto the ground, unable to find his words. “I’m in Patch Land still…”

“And you didn’t once think to notify anyone?! To notify me?!”

“...Sorry-”

“Sorry does not change the fact that you were scaring Dedede and I to death!”

“Well-” Kirby gulped. Calm down, it’s just Meta Knight… “A lot happened, and I didn’t think to call…”

Meta Knight didn’t respond, but Kirby knew that silence too well to know that he was waiting for a more detailed explanation.

“When I first got here, everyone was sad! I couldn’t leave it like that, so I tried cheering everyone up! Fluff told me Yin-Yarn came back, so we went to find a way to break those needles! And then I started getting possessed by Yin-Yarn, and made an angry bird almost rampage-”

“You did  _ what _ ?!”

“Yeah, anyways Fluff and I broke it, and everyone is starting to be happy again.”

“How eventful. Why are you still there?” Meta Knight's voice was still snap like, but luckily started to calm down. 

“Well, Fluff and his advisor aren't fully happy yet. I can feel it. And Fluff’s coronation is in four days! I promised to help with that and be his suitor-”

“His what now?!”

“Yeah, it’s weirding me too.” Kirby sighed. 

“Whatever, you’re going home  _ now _ . As my responsibility you cannot just change plans without telling someone!”

That r word made Kirby’s eyes go wide, thinking back to when Dom used that exact same word.

...

Of course!

Why didn’t Kirby realize that sooner?!

He was about to bring that word up again, before the rest of Meta Knight’s statement fell into his thoughts. He couldn't leave yet! “Wait! But sir!”

Meta Knight went silent.

“Just let me stay for four more days! This coronation is the last thing I need to do! Then everyone will be happy again! Please?” He made little puppy dog eyes even though he knew Meta Knight couldn’t see them.

Meta Knight stayed silent. Kirby needed to add more to convince. So, he said the first thing that came to mind, even if he knew he wouldn't be too fond of it.

“Please, sir! I’ll even help you on your ship for a month or two!”

“...Fine. But just because I’m agreeing doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for grounding! I’m taking that offer, too.”

Kirby smiled widely and hopped, even if a part of him regretted making that offer. “Yay!”

“And I’ll visit there that day, so you don’t pull any more tricks.”

Kirby got even more excited. Meta Knight! In Patch Land! Not being possessed! He could have Fluff and him talk and be best friends! “Oh, you should ask Dedede and Bandana Dee too! They’d enjoy the coronation!”

“That’s not why I- oh fine.”

Kirby giggled, hopping back onto the bed again. He let his feet dangle off the bed as he continued giggling. He had completely forgotten about getting yelled at, and was happy about what Meta Knight said. “This is great, you guys can see Fluff again! You didn’t really get to meet him last time, but he’s so nice! He is shy but he is really professional like you! And he makes me really happy with his jokes! You’ve never heard him laugh but it's the best thing! He’s even helped me a lot while I was here, and did I mention he's nice?!”

“...Nova’s sake, no wonder you stayed over there.”

Kirby glanced towards the phone. “Hm?”

“You got it bad.”

Kirby blinked, his smile not moving. “Got what?”

“It.”

Of course Meta Knight was being vague. “Well, I have been really warm when around him. Is that what you mean?”

“Yes it is- Kirby didn’t you have feelings for Ribbon too? Even if that was like… a day long.”

“Ribbon?” Kirby repeated the girl’s name. 

Suddenly, it clicked.

“Oh! That’s why this felt familiar!” Kirby gapped. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised it took you that long to find out.”

“I was all warm around him because I like-like him! Sir, I like-like Fluff!”

“Yes, we’ve established this.”

“I like-like my friend!” Kirby skipped to his feet, giggling. The happy puffball then stopped, as if he realized something. “If that’s the case, then… Meta Kniiight!” He began whining, falling on his back. “What do I do?!”

Meta Knight seemed dumbfounded in his tone. “I don’t know… tell him?”

“But what if he doesn’t like-like me back?!”

“Kirby, you know you're more of the expert on relationships than me.” Meta Knight sighed. “But I’d probably tell him. It’s good to be open with friends.”

“Yeah…" Kirby muttered. Besides, they had both agreed to tell each other things…

If anything, this wasn't as bad as Void Termina.

“Great.” Meta Knight sighed. “Now that that is established, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you in four days, and we _are_ leaving that day.”

…

“Wait!”

Meta Knight responded with his signature silence.

“...Can you tell Dedede to do something?”

"..." Meta Knight sighed through the phone again. "...Fine. What do you want me to tell him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alt title for this chapter rather than Chapter 17, "Living proof that Kirby needs a better memory card".  
> I literally have no idea where my idea/headcanon of Kirby having a bad memory came from, but I find it funny I decided to hide plot points in a way it would've been known sooner if Kirby just remembered. And at this point I'd die for this headcanon and kinda accept it as part of Kirby's personality. Is that bad?  
> I don't know I'm someone who writes Kirby speaking other than "poyo".


	18. Chapter 18

The pink puffball skidded to a halt before he could fully run into the big doors of Patch castle. Waving his little nubs for hands, he took a quick glance behind him to see the sky above the felted lands. When he did, he saw the bright eye-hurting sun a little bit before it would actually set.

Once that sun began to set, everything would begin.

Walking into the castle before anyone could see him, Kirby was glad to feel his sore hands weren’t hurting as much as they were days prior. Sure, it still hurt, but it had reduced over time, and was now to the level of discomfort of a bruise. And even more good news, the area didn’t even look injured anymore! It was enough for Kirby to remove his bandages for this event. And not completely flinch when he held his bag with him.

Even if it was the same wool carpet that has been in this castle for who knows how long, it felt especially different this time. And the hallways itself seemed brighter than before. It was most likely just Kirby’s attitude, however, because Kirby's eyes said it looked just the same.

Once he had entered the door frame to Patch Land’s throne room, Kirby stopped to admire the decorations. Tables had been lined across the room, which had felted food on top of them, the food ranging from fruits to parfaits. Smaller, circular tables were littered on the south side of the room, while the north seemed to be completely empty of tables. And streamers also hung against the walls. The latter was more childish, but that was because Kirby himself helped plan the decorations.

He skipped over to the figure near the center of the room, who was the royal assistant that had been stuck in a nurse’s room for more than a week. Kirby let himself giggle as he skipped over to Dom. “Everything is starting?”

“Yep.” Dom exhaled breath, which twirled his mustache a bit. “You know what you have to do, right?

“Somewhat, yeah!”

Dom sighed. “You better not screw your part up. And please… don’t dance childishly.”

“Can’t promise that.” Kirby laughed, hopping in place. “But I’ll make sure Fluff is happy.”

“...I guess that’s the most I’ll get.” Dom let out a small smile. “After all, you cheer him up more than me.”

Kirby tilted his head slightly, thinking fully about what Dom had said. It made him remember that specific day.

“Didn’t you say you were inviting others to this, too?” Dom asked out, nterupting Kirby's thinking. “Because you should probably do that now.”

Kirby’s little lightbulb in his head clicked, and he forgot about his past thoughts. “Oh- right!” Taking a few steps towards the door, he turned back to Dom, his bag spinning in response. “Where’s Fluff?”

“His majesty is in his room, probably panicking.” Dom answered, probably would've been shrugging if he had shoulders.  


Slowly nodding, Kirby left the room. He forced himself to not run in the castle, so instead he began to skip, his bag bouncing in response. He admired the wool walls as he jumped up the staircase leading towards Fluff’s room, but once he saw the door that led to that room, he took a right and entered the room right next to it. 

This room looked a lot like Fluff’s room itself, however it had a little table in the center and had little teacups on top of it. Other decorations littered the room, including stuffed animals. Fluff said this was the room where his mother (Also Fluff, but he didn’t seem to like admitting that) would ‘hang out’, but it reminded Kirby of tea parties instead. Which was completely fine by him! He liked tea parties!

Placing the bag near the entrance of the room, he passed by the big window, lifting himself up near some hanging shelves. He grabbed the familiar rainbow and white sock that was laying in the center of one of them. Kirby was finally able to give it back to Fluff after the whole ordeal, and the sock had now been cleaned and was as beautiful as it used to be, and now completely matched the one Kirby had at home.  


He stuck his hand in for only a moment, before taking it back out. Placing the sock on the floor, he took a few steps back as excitement folded his body. The sock began glowing softly, within moments, he saw a familiar red and gold robe that now was made with yarn.

Dedede stumbled a bit, holding a bag in one hand, and Kirby quickly caught his empty flipper before his friend could fall. The penguin let out a groan, letting go of Kirby to rub his head, before he noticed who was in front of him. 

“Kirby! You're alive!” Dedede laughed, picking up Kirby and pulling him into a hug, dropping the red bag on the ground. Kirby giggled in response, before Dedede gasped. “What happened to ya face?!”

Kirby leaped out of Dedede’s arms, smiling. He kinda forgot he got hurt on his face too… Why didn’t anybody mention there was still a scar? Kirby thought it would have disappeared like the wounds on his hand. “I got burned by a giant bird!” he explained rather bluntly.  


Before Dedede could fully respond to the statement, the sock glowed again, before a smaller orange waddle dee stepped out. He seemed to stumble like the king, but caught himself before Kirby could help. Fixing his blue bandana, he waved. “The king was right, this does feel weird.”

Kirby hugged the waddle dee before he could react. “I’m so happy you two showed up!”

“Well, why wouldn’t we?” Bandana Dee muttered. “Meta Knight said you asked.”

Speaking of the knight, Kirby glanced towards the sock right when it was glowing again. His eyes sparkled with delight as the familiar dark bat wings fluttered before the iconic silver mask and yellow eyes darted from side to side. As his wings folded back under his cape, he looked over to Kirby.

“Sir!” He let go of Bandana Dee to hug the Knight, which the knight only nodded. “Thank you for showing up!”

Meta Knight moved Kirby off of his face, sighing. “You remember I only came to bring you back, right?” He asked, a bit of annoyance in his tone.

Kirby only smiled as Dedede smacked the dark blue knight on the back. “Lighten up! Ya said he apologized!”

If Meta Knight had his mask off, he’d probably be frowning. But he quickly changed the conversation as he noticed what Dedede had brought up earlier. "Those wounds never healed?"  


Kirby shrugged slightly, feeling upset the wound on his face didn't heal like he thought it did. "Guess not."

"Well, guess that makes sense." Meta Knight said, being vague as usual.

Bandana Dee nodded, as if he had noticed the wound too. He probably just didn't want to bring it up like Dedede and now Meta Knight had. "But you've gotten hurt from other missions too, so maybe it'll disappear soon!"

Kirby smiled again, nodding right back. He'd be really sad if it were to stay...

The pink little puffball grabbed the sock and placed it back on the shelf. Once he looked back to his friends, Dedede spoke again. “Meta Knight said ya wanted me to bring this, Kirbs?” 

Kirby stepped forward to have the king hand the red party bag towards him. Glancing inside, his smile widened. If that was possible. “Yes, this is it! Thank you Dedede!”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Bandana Dee muttered out as Kirby led them out of the room. “Why did you ask for this specifically?”

“Yeah.” Dedede moved his glove towards his face. “Seems like a weird coronation gift. And that’s coming from me.”

“It was the first thing I thought of.” Kirby exhaled, feeling his face go warm. “Before I leave, there’s this moment where Fluff and I would be together. Everyone might be watching, which would make him a bit uneasy. But I know with some joking, it would calm him down. I want to give this to Fluff then, and tell him how much I like-like him!”

Opening the door, he continued leading the three down the stairs towards the throne room. 

“Aw, that’s actually really sweet.” Bandana Dee chuckled. 

“If my suitor did that to me, I’d consider sharing my meals with them!” Dedede laughed. Of course, making it about himself.

But Kirby only laughed back. “I’m not actually his suitor, just playing the roll!”

“Uh huh. Like you didn’t just admit you plan on confessing.”

Once the four entered the throne room, Kirby was surprised to see more guests this time around. More people seemed to enter by the minute, and the pink puffball already started noticing Zeke and his other neighbors within the crowds. 

They began to notice Kirby too, because a few familiar faces floated towards them. “Hello Kirby!”

“Zeke! Beadrix! Carrie!” Kirby waved, before looking back to his three other friends. “Dedede, Bandana Dee, Meta Knight, these are some of my friends from here! And Zeke, Beadrix, Carrie, these are my friends from Dreamland I talked about!” 

“Wow,” Beadrix gapped, looking up and down from Dedede. “Nice fashion, your majesty!” 

“Thank ya! I planned it myself!” Dedede crossed his arms, feeling very confident from the compliment.

Carrie swung around Bandana Dee, who stayed mostly quiet. “I’ve never met a real waddle dee before! I’ve only ever seen the fakes.” 

Bandana Dee nodded, shaking her hand. Well, more like foot. “And I’ve never met a Patch Landian.”

“It’s so nice meeting some of Kirby’s other friends!” Carrie giggled, which Bandana Dee only happily smiled back. 

“You’re sitting at our table with us, aren't you Kirby?” Zeke asked, looking to the pink puffball.

“I think Dom put me with them.” Kirby answered, motioning towards Meta Knight and the others. “But I’ll definitely come by!”

Zeke nodded, and as he and the two other Patch Landians introduced themselves to Dedede, Bandana Dee and Meta Knight, Kirby noticed Dom telling some guards to get into position. “Oh, I think we’re about to start!” Kirby spoke out, jumping and handing Dedede back the bag with… whatever gift Kirby had asked for in there. “Hold this, and I’ll come and get it after the dance!”

Dedede nodded, a little confused and probably disappointed to be holding the gift again. But Meta Knight brought his attention back to them having to take a seat. “Come on.”

Kirby waved towards all six of his friends, before running over to Dom. He made sure to not transform into a car, and skidded to a halt before he could actually ram into the assistant. 

“You remember where you’re supposed to go?” Dom asked.

“Nope!” Kirby laughed, smiling.

Dom sighed. “Well, just stay by Angie until I signal to you.” 

“Makes sense!” Kirby then glanced around for the familiar golden patch landian, and once he saw her golden wings he skipped over to her.

Standing right next to her, he fidgeted with the side of his face, before flinching. It still slightly stung... nice.  


“I don’t understand why Dom told me to do this.” Angie rambled, fidgeting with the little silver needle in her grasp, which had some small yarn attached to it. “Beadrix is the one who’s better with beads. I always drop them!” She complained, clearly looking frustrated. 

“I think it was because Beadrix said she’d rather watch…you know her.” Kirby thought out loud, before smiling. “But I’ll know you’ll do great! You helped Fluff and I free Dom, this is nothing compared to that!”

Angie glanced to the needle, before turning and exposing a soft little smile. “Thanks for that.” She took a deep breath. “I just hope I don’t mess up for his majesty.”

“I’m sure if anyone could understand total embarrassment, it’s him.” Kirby chuckled. 

Angie nodded, Kirby happy to see her not as gloomed as their first encounter on this trip. “You’ll do great too.”

Before Kirby could speak again, the loud noise of a trumpet began to play, turning his attention towards the center of the room. Mara floated there with the trumpet clutched tightly, excitement in her eyes. 

Kirby didn’t remember Mara being able to play music… that must be why she had a music bush thing in her room.

Dom stood right next to the square patch landian, and he cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for showing up for this wondrous occasion.”

Kirby couldn’t handle the excitement that flooded through him, but couldn’t help but feel nervous, too.

Fluff did say they should tell each other everything, but that didn’t make it any easier.

After all, the fear of rejection was an instinct, something normal to feel. At least, that's what Meta Knight said.  


...Well, even if Fluff doesn’t feel the same, at least he’ll know.  That would make them way better friends in the end!

“We’ve been waiting for this for a while, and I’m very excited to start. So, lets begin!” Dom announced, stepped back towards the thrones itself, which were near where Angie and Kirby stood.

Kirby felt a thought run across him, but he stopped thinking when he noticed who was entering the room. Fluff stepped in, his clearly flushed face almost made him look completely purple, and if it weren’t for his eyebrows that rarely ever left their narrowed position, Kirby might not have recognized him. He wore a royal blue cape that hung around his shoulders, with lighter cotton sewn at the bottom, which slightly ran across the floor. His hands were bandage-less, but they still looked a little scarred like Kirby’s, and even seemed to hurt him a little when it brushed against the doorframe. And even if his crown was still chipped, it seemed to not hang as miserably as it did before.

Kirby saw the prince swear underneath his breath when Mara started playing a royal tune again. The prince seemed to take a few moments before he walked towards the center of the room, his face showing frustration even if Kirby knew that wasn’t how he actually felt. 

He got to the throne, his anxiety going up just by looking at Dom. Dom seemed just as weird, which made Kirby tilt his head. But, it went away when Dom spoke again. 

“Now, loyal high ranked guard Angie will do the sewing.” Dom spoke out, and Kirby saw Angie grunt underneath her own breath. Flapping her golden wings, she flew over to Fluff, smiling a little as she gripped onto her needle and a dark blue gem, which seemed to match with Fluff’s cape.

The prince muttered something that Kirby could barely hear. “Don’t drop the bead this time.” Which resulted in Angie laughing. Kirby could tell the prince was trying so hard to be calm.

Fluff kneeled his head very clearly, almost like he had practiced this very action for a long time, and Angie put the dark blue bead in position. Kirby tried hard to see where, but the position he was in didn’t help it by much. Well… at least he could see one of Fluff’s eyes.

The room went silent as Angie sewed the bead into position, before biting the last bit of yarn off. Once she had, Fluff turned towards the group again, his eyebrows furrowing more than the usual. Kirby could almost see the sweat from his face, and Kirby knew he was probably overthinking in that smart head of his.

Kirby glanced towards Dom, seeing him looking away. This was probably the moment where the metamatoe would’ve been eaten. But, they obviously couldn’t do that. The puffball didn’t look at Dom for long, because his eyes seemed to drift back to Fluff even if he wasn’t planning it.

“With the bead sewn into the crown, I now introduce Patch Land’s newest ruler, who shall rule us through the summers and winters.” Dom spoke again, before catching Kirby’s attention again. He nodded right when he said the name. “King Fluff!”

As the crowd began to cheer, Kirby blinked and pointed towards himself.

Dom rolled his eyes and nodded again.

What was he… OH that’s the signal!

Kirby found his excitement fading away as he took his steps forward, which slowly and surely was replaced with nervousness. Geez, was this how Fluff felt? But he forced a genuine smile before nudging Fluff. 

The newly made King seemed to get even more flushed when he noticed Kirby. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t say it.

Kirby moved one of his cirular hands towards Fluff, who seemed hesitant at first. But when the blue puffball saw Kirby’s smile, he slowly smiled back and grabbed his hand. They both seemed to wince just a bit from the contact.

Taking a few steps forward, Kirby tried his best to remember what Fluff showed him before as the music began playing. It didn’t help that the majority of the world was staring right at him. But Kirby forced himself to think of the two on top of the castle roof, only the stars watching them, and the two just having fun. 

It hit Kirby with a huge sense of nostalgia thinking like that, remembering the last dance the two had was exactly that. Which, funny enough, was only a month ago, and was when Kirby was first feeling this way towards his friend.

Or at least, the first time he noticed it.

Lightly spinning, the two puffballs seemed to just avoid eye contact with each other. Kirby thought back to what Dom specifically told him to do next. He said to do it when a specific part of the music played… that’s now! 

Mid swing, Kirby began to let go of Fluff’s hand, which definitely made the other lightly squeak in response. But before he could fully let go, he summoned his star whip in that exact hand, which led to Fluff instinctively moving his hand to it instead of Kirby. The king seemed to understand what was happening now, because when the mini twirl came to an end, he made a simple pose. Even if it was just a change in position, and one hand close to his crown, it made Kirby giggle. Fluff was really adorable.

Once Kirby tugged the whip, hence as well as Fluff, the two were pulled close together again once the song came to a halt. Turning towards the crowd, he threw one empty hand in the air as he chuckled, letting the yarn fade away again and kicking one leg up. That wasn’t part of the dance Dom told him, but rather the older dances to bring more nostalgia. And yet, Fluff still mirrored the act.

The crowd began to cheer, and Kirby couldn’t seem to stop smiling. The next song began to play, and Dom announced his last words for the ceremony. 

“Now! Let the dancing commence!”

Other Patch Landian couples started to move into the clearing, spinning around each other to celebrate. Kirby smiled even more seeing them all happy, especially when he saw some of his own friends joining in.

Zeke and Carrie were both together, but while other couples seemed more romantic, their’s seemed more like siblings play dancing. Over time, Beadrix joined the two and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Mara, at first, looked a little lonesome after putting the trumpet down. But she seemed to lighten up when Angie floated over to her, awkwardly asking if she wanted to dance. Mara began to look better afterwards, and when they started dancing they both began to laugh just like the other three.

And while Dedede, Bandana Dee and Meta Knight weren’t dancing, they did look back at Kirby when he found their table. Dedede let out a laugh as he seemed to be stuffing himself with some food, the gift he was holding near the center of the table, and Bandana Dee was doing a rather silent cheer and waving his little nubs. Meta Knight was sneak eating a parfait, seeming to have cheered up a lot compared to earlier. When he saw Kirby’s eyes he let one hand form into a thumbs up, Kirby imagining a smile underneath his mask that would match with the slightly proud glow in his eyes. 

Kirby looked back to Fluff when the two began to dance again. The two were silent for a moment, before Fluff seemed to finally find his voice. “The yarn spin, huh?”

“Hey, I planned on learning it once you brought it up.”

Fluff laughed, his anxiety seeming to loosen now that the attention wasn’t entirely focused on him. “...S-so... how much food did Dom need to give you for you to play the suitor role?” he asked. 

Kirby laughed as he slowly spun his friend around. “Not any, he just asked!”

“I doubt that.”

Kirby giggled, and the two began to fall into a silence again. Within a few moments, Kirby spoke again to make his friend laugh again. “So, do I have to call you king, now?”

“Yeah, but considering you never use royal manners, are you?”

The two laughed again, and Fluff smiled, his eyebrows loosening up again, even if Kirby saw it before on this trip, it still surprised him a bit. “But... I don’t mind that much...”

Now was the moment. Just follow the plan like it was one of Fluff’s…

Kirby didn’t expect himself to be this nervous. It was almost like the moment he finally knew what this heat was, was when it decided to intensify.

Kirby looked back to his gift laying next to his other king friend, smiling. “Actually, there’s something I wanna say before this is all over.”

Fluff blinked. “What is it?”

Kirby was about to answer, until he noticed a figure near the corner of the room. Moving his gaze, he let it focus until he noticed it was Dom. Dom was paying attention to the both of them, having a warm smile on his face before glancing to the ground. 

The pink puffball frowned slightly. He couldn’t help thinking back to everything. From the arguments Dom and Fluff seemed to have during this whole trip. When Fluff looked traumatized seeing Dom possessed, similarly to how he looked when Kirby was out of it, and even when Kirby saw Meta Knight possessed. Then back to Dom saying how he felt “responsible” for Fluff, despite the newly made king having parents that didn’t die until recently.

He knew not everyone in Patch Land was happy yet. His promise technically wasn't completed yet.  


And Dom wouldn’t be truly happy unless they…

Kirby sighed. He was supposed to confess now, but what was more important? Someone needing help, or his own feelings? His own feelings, or his vow that made him prolong his vacation by three weeks?

“Kirby?”

Kirby looked back to Fluff, who had stopped dancing and tilted his head in concern. Looking into Fluff’s beautiful brown eyes, and the new blue gem that sparkled when the light hit right, he knew what to do. “I think you should talk to Dom.” he spoke out.

Fluff tensed up, stepping back. “What do you mean?”

“You two haven’t talked since that day, and I think you two need to!” Kirby smiled again, holding the other’s hands close to his face. “I have a feeling you want to talk to him about it, and I know Dom wants to as well!”

Fluff glanced to the ground. “I don’t know, we might just get into another argument.”

“That’s another reason why you should talk!” Kirby let go of Fluff’s little nubs, feeling a little sad when he did. “He might’ve gotten angry a lot in the past few years, but that was mostly because of Yin-Yarn. He cares, Fluff. Like how Meta Knight cares for me.”

“But that’s different.” Fluff muttered. “He’s your dad.”

“I mean, sort of yes and no? And besides, we told each other to tell things more often, I think telling each other to talk to someone else counts too. Have I ever thought of something that backfired instead of working?”

Fluff narrowed his eyes. Kirby wondered why until he remembered. "Oh- right- ...Hot Wings..." he giggled.

"But a part of that idea still worked out in the end...: Fluff nodded, before seeming to understand what Kirby was trying to say. “...You... don’t mind me going?”

“This is your night, Fluff! You’re a king now!” Kirby nodded. “This is a great moment to finally admit something you’ve been wanting to say.”

Fluff seemed to hesitate, before smiling. “You’re right. Completely right.” he let go of Kirby’s hands, smiling. “You’re amazing Kirby, thank you. I want to talk to you more afterwards, okay?” 

Waving his hands, Fluff turned and went over to Dom, his little cape flowing slightly as he did. Dom seemed surprised to see Fluff going over to him, even looking over to Kirby. After a bit, he smiled, mouthing a ‘thanks’ before he turned back to Fluff.

Kirby felt a sinking pain in his chest as he began to walk towards the table. He was happy to fix a relationship, but why was he also sad? He could always confess another time.

Well, it wouldn’t be for a while before he’d have the opportunity.

Walking towards the tables, his attention was grabbed when he saw Carrie calling towards him with some cookies in hand. Skipping over to the table, he waved towards the three Patch Landians. “Are Angie and Mara still dancing?”

“Yeah.” Zeke answered, smiling. “I didn’t think I’d see Mara so happy again... “

“And that’s because of you, darling!” Beadrix spun around, giggling.

Kirby smiled, taking a cookie that Carrie offered. He quickly ate the sweet before his hand would hurt more. 

“You didn’t tell him?”

Kirby turned his head to see his other three friends walking towards them. Dedede held the gift bag over one shoulder, and a tired Bandana Dee on the other, and Meta Knight was stretching his bat-like wings a bit. 

Kirby shook his head. “Something came up.”

Bandana Dee sighed. 

“So I brought this gift for nothing?” Dedede asked, groaning slightly. 

Kirby only answered with another shrug.

“Well, I told my crew we’d be back up in the skies early tomorrow.” Meta Knight answered, seeming to go back into serious mode. “And because you offered to help us, that means we should probably leave now so you don't whine about it tomorrow.”

"I don't whine!" Kirby pouted.

"...Yes you do. Quite a lot."

Carrie seemed to let out a disappointing ‘aww’ afterwards, which convinced Kirby to try and ask for one more week. But, he knew he had been here for way too long. And he would've just proved Meta Knight's point if he did. So, he nodded towards the elder, waving his hands towards the Patch Landians. “Tell Fluff that he can always call me.”

“You won’t tell him goodbye?” Zeke asked.

Kirby glanced back towards where he last saw Dom, seeing him and Fluff talking towards each other. Kirby smiled a little seeing that Fluff didn’t look as tense anymore, and he even saw a few laughs come out. 

“No, I wouldn’t want to interrupt him.” Kirby responded, letting out a soft smile. “He needed to talk to someone.”

Kirby looked back to see Meta Knight patting him on the side of the smaller puffballs face. “You might be in trouble still, but I prop you for making a mature choice.” 

Kirby giggled. “Am I still childish now?”

“Yes.”

Waving towards the three Patch Landians again, he and his other friends began to leave the room. He said one last goodbye towards Angie and Mara, and as they finally left the throne room, a certain other person seemed to notice that Kirby's attitude was gone from the room…

Walking up towards the stairs, Kirby let his smile fade away. Which Meta Knight did notice, who slowly brought the younger boy closer with one of his wings. That made Kirby feel a little better, but it didn’t exactly bring his smile back.

“You’re acting like you won’t see him again.” Meta Knight spoke out, his voice going back to it’s normal, gruff but calm tone. “You could always come back in a few months.”

Kirby nodded, and Dedede spoke in. “And surely, we wouldn’t mind if ya moved here! Ya just need to ask next time!”

“What?” Kirby blinked. “That... wasn’t why I stayed here for so long.”

“...It wasn’t?”

“Not really.” Kirby moved one hand towards the side of his face, wincing a little from both burn wounds. “Well, I guess wouldn’t  _ hate _ it here…and I'm sure people are able to live in two houses, right?”

Dedede laughed as they all neared the hallway. "Sure people do!"

Meta Knight moved his wing, which made Kirby a little disappointed. It wasn’t every day when Meta Knight initiated the closeness. 

...Guess he only did it because he could tell Kirby was sad.

He shouldn’t be. He completed his promise. He made everyone happy again, even if it wasn’t complete happiness, Yin-Yarn left some scars, but it was a step in the right direction. 

So what if he didn’t do his original plans. There was always a next time.

“You ready?”

Kirby looked back to Meta Knight, forcing a smile.   


“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm being honest, this is one of my favorite chapters I've written...  
> As a angst obsessed writer its funny that my favorite chapters are the ones that are soft.


	19. Chapter 19

The hallway seemed a lot darker than the last time Kirby walked here. Then again, that was most likely because it was now nightfall. Either way, it didn’t help Kirby feel any better.

Luckily, he wasn’t afraid of the dark any more.

Because that and those footstep noises would've definitely freaked him out if he still was.

As they neared the one door, Dedede looked back to Meta Knight and Kirby. “This is the door, right?”

“Mhm.” Meta Knight nodded, slowly going back to his normal tone. 

Dedede turned back around, moving his gloved flipped to the knob. Yet, right when he grabbed the doorknob…

“Kirby!”

Kirby turned back around, squinting his eyes to try and see who called out to him. He smiled widely when he saw one sprinkle of light hit a specific sewn gem correctly. The blue gem made Kirby instantly know who it was, even if it was just added that night.

“Fluff!” 

Running over to the blue puffball, they seemed to meet near the middle of the hallway. Kirby, despite being happy, was also slightly confused. Wincing in the process, he grabbed Fluff’s other damaged hand.

“What happened to telling each other things?” Fluff joked, smiling with his eyebrows furrowing a little. “Saying goodbye counts as ‘things’.”

“What about Dom?” Kirby asked, not thinking about answering Fluff’s own question. 

“We talked.” Fluff’s eyebrows loosened, seeming to get a little anxious again. “We said some things, we both apologized. And I think we’ll be on good terms now.”

“That’s great!”   


“But I also told you I wanted to talk afterwards.” 

“...Right.”

The two seemed to collectively look at Meta Knight at the same time. The knight had curled his cape around him at the sound of company, and he didn’t seem to have any strong emotion shown through his eyes. Dedede and Bandana Dee, who was slowly waking up again, seemed a little more excited instead. 

Fluff looked a bit more anxious, clearing his throat. “Pardon me, sir Meta Knight. You mind if your son and I talk for a bit?”

Meta Knight seemed a bit surprised to hear the word ‘son’, but it wasn’t in a negative way. Kirby let himself shine some puppy dog eyes, which afterwards Meta Knight sighed. “Ten minutes.”

Kirby let out a giggle as his entire body shined in joy. Fluff nodded towards Kirby, before pointing up towards the roof. “Come on.” The newly crowned king opened the door to his own room, which was luckily right near them.

As Fluff went in, Kirby glanced back towards his friends. Dedede pointed towards the gifted bag in question, which brought Kirby some confusion.

Remembering what that gift was for, he nodded quickly.

Dedede took that notice to toss the bag towards him, which Kirby happily caught thanks to a jump. Once he had the little gift bag secured in his grasp, and waved towards the three before he went to follow his best friend.

Maybe he could still do his plan… 

Walking into the dimly lit room, Kirby was too excited to fully look at Fluff’s purple decorated room. Fluff had already opened the big window out towards the roof, and was waving for Kirby’s attention. Kirby giggled again, skipping towards Fluff. Once they had both gotten near the window, they stepped through it together, feeling the cold night breeze almost instantly. 

It made Kirby smile wider, remembering the last time the two were up here. Before Kirby knew what was really going on, and probably the first time in a while that Fluff was able to have fun. That felt so long ago in Kirby time… even if it was in reality about three weeks ago. 

Fluff held his hand up towards Kirby, which Kirby happily took. The two stepped across the cold felt that made up the castle, before they sat down near the edge, looking towards the sky above.

Just like last time, except that time it was Kirby that led the two here.

Sitting down and letting his oval feet rest fully, he placed his little gift right next to him, but not too close to the edge that it would fall. He looked towards the dark blue sky that was sprinkled with stars. Seeing the familiar blur of Popstar made him shiver.

Weird reaction…

Wait- no that was the wind.

Fluff seemed to notice, and moved his cape to cover Kirby as well. Kirby happily cuddled inside it, feeling its soft wool that reminded him of the world's softest blanket. 

“This used to be my fathers.” Fluff spoke after the long period of silence. He shrugged slightly. “I can see why he wore it a lot.”

“Yeah.” Kirby smiled, looking towards his friend. “I think he’d be proud of you.”

Fluff chuckled, wiping his eyes like he was going to cry. “Thanks.” Looking back at Kirby, Kirby was happy to see that Fluff now had a completely different aura then when he first saw him. 

Kirby was about to look back to the sky, when Fluff spoke again. “You’re amazing, Kirby. I don’t think I’d have been able to get rid of Yin-Yarn by myself.”

Kirby shoved the prince in response. “It wasn’t just me!”

Fluff nodded. “You’re right… Mara and Angie helped too.”

“Fluff!”

The blue puffball laughed along, which only became contagious for Kirby. “I think someone named Fluff helped too…?”

“He sounds cool!”

The two continued laughing, the only sound around them being the breeze and the muffled music from the throne room. Within a few moments Kirby had stopped laughing, and slowly the new king did too. 

They fell into another silence, and Kirby turned his gaze back to the stars. Seeing a shooting star shoot across the sky, he closed his eyes for a moment, holding his hands together as if he was making a wish. 

_ Wish me luck, star. _

After doing that, he turned back to Fluff, who seemed to have a similar idea to him.

“I need to tell you something!”

Kirby blinked, and Fluff seemed just as confused. Not only did they both want to say something, but they seemed to say it at the same time.

“I’ll go first.” Fluff responded. 

“No! Me!” Kirby raised one of his circular hands. “Me! I wanna go!”

Fluff laughed, before nodding. “Fine.”

Taking a deep breath, Kirby stood up from his spot. The cape left as he did so, causing him to shiver again. Fluff seemed to tilt his head in confusion. Kirby turned his full body towards the king, grabbing the other’s hands again.

“Fluff, you know you’re my best friend, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, you say it quite a bit.”

“Well, you are!” Kirby giggled. Suddenly, he didn’t feel cold anymore. If anything, it was the opposite now. “I have a lot of friends, but I always thought of you as my bestest friend! Even when we hadn’t seen each other in a long time!”

“...I didn’t know that.” Fluff nervously laughed, his face slightly going purple again.

“It’s true!” Kirby looked behind himself, reaching towards the gift bag. Once he had turned his attention back to the prince, he noticed that Fluff had stood up to match the pink puffball. 

Letting go of his other hand, he revealed the gift. “I brought you a coronation gift as well! Because… I really care for you.”

Fluff seemed slightly surprised. “Aww, you didn’t have to Kirby.” Fluff laughed.

“I wanted to.”

Fluff grabbed the bag from Kirby, seeming curious about what was inside. The moment he peeked inside, his eyes shifted from curiosity to confusion.

The king pulled out what was inside, which happened to be a Maxim Tomato. It looked just like the last one Kirby brought, made of felt instead of yarn like a metamatoe. Fluff looked into Kirby’s eyes, Kirby smiling when his brown eyes showed nothing but questions.

“I brought the first Maxim Tomato because I wanted you to try it!” Kirby explained. “And I know we had to use the last one, but I wanted you to try one! So I asked Dedede to bring you one.” Moving his feet, he felt the heat intensify. “You offered to share the last one… and if you want… we could share this one…?”

Fluff stared right at Kirby, before he smiled widely. So happily that he ended up dropping the bag itself, before throwing himself at Kirby.

Kirby couldn’t help but squeak in response, and had to quickly regain his balance. He heard his friend sniff, and he panicked. Did he do something wrong?! He didn’t even get to say-

“Kirby!” Fluff cried out, hugging Kirby tightly. “You’re the sweetest thing ever!”

The pink puffball felt himself get even warmer. “It was no-”

“Just, how much you’ve helped my home- how much you helped  _ me  _ the past few weeks.” Kirby could only listen at this point, but the fact that his friend wasn’t crying from sadness made him feel a bit better. Sniffing, Fluff spoke again. “Thank you!”

Kirby smiled, the surprise of his friend getting emotional slowly disappearing. “That’s what friends are fo-”

As soon as Kirby was about to finish his sentence, Fluff had let go of Kirby. At first, Kirby thought that the closeness between the two was over, until Fluff brought Kirby close again. Before Kirby could really process what happened, Fluff had pressed his face against Kirby’s cheek, and it was over within seconds.

Kirby’s eyes were as wide as ever, slowly placing one hand where Fluff was. The heat he was feeling had now become unbearable. 

Fluff seemed to feel the same way, because he seemed to have that look of overthinking and mortification on him. “I- I know that came out of nowhere- but-” Everything else that Fluff said sounded like complete gibberish.

The shock slowly began to fade away, and Kirby slowly smiled. This reminded him of that time with Ribbon, where she kissed him around the same spot. Yet, this also felt completely different. 

The newly made King laughed, one hand fidgeting with his crown. “I-I had this whole plan… I was going to give you this big speech… but I sort of already told you it back at Hot Land…”

Kirby didn’t move, but he did think back to those things Fluff had said. He had forgotten some of it by now, but the majority of it played in his head like it had just happened.

“...Point being, there’s one thing I haven’t told you yet.” Fluff took a deep breath, moving his hands again. “Kirby… I guess you can say I see you… more than friends.”

Kirby tilted his head. “Best friends?”

“No…” Fluff sighed. “More than best friends. I… really like you… I loved you for a really long time.”

That L word confused Kirby. He’s used that word before; with Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Dee. He’s even used it with other friends before. But Fluff also said he saw him as more than best friends…

Wait.

Within that moment, Kirby seemed to get it. “Oh.”

It was the exact same thing that Kirby felt!

“I wanted to tell you before you went home… mostly because we agreed to tell each other things.” Fluff explained, his face still tinted with embarrassment. “And…”

Kirby let out a laugh and hugged Fluff again, who this time was the one surprised. “I like-like you too!”

“I know you- wait what?!”

Kirby let go again, giggling. “Yeah! I was just about to tell you that earlier!”

Fluff blinked. “Really?!”

The two stared at each other, falling into a silence. After a few minutes, both of them busted out laughing.

“We were really going to tell each other the same thing?!” Fluff asked, laughing.

“I guess so!”

The boys started laughing again, Kirby shivering again. Going into a hug again, Fluff lightly spinned, causing both of them to fall down onto the roof. They both didn’t seem to care, even if it hurt their sore hands a bit, and they continued laughing.

The laughter was apparent for minutes, before the sound of someone clearing their throat got the two’s attention. Kirby was the first to look up, seeing the familiar cape hidden figure of Meta Knight in the window frame. 

Fluff seemed to get embarrassed again, yet Kirby wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Standing up, Kirby waved towards the elder in delight.

Meta Knight’s golden eyes glowed in the dark night, yet his attitude was nothing close to being angry. “It’s getting late Kirby, we should really get going. I don’t want you sleeping during work hours.”

Kirby glanced to Fluff, who quietly laughed again. “Yeah… you probably should go now.”

The pink puffball helped the king up, the king grabbing his maxim tomato, and they walked besides the knight towards the portal sock. The moment they got into the room, which was empty of his other king friend and waddle dee, Fluff looked back at Kirby. 

“...What exactly... does this make us, now?” Fluff asked.

Kirby thought about it, before smiling widely. He giggled as he grabbed his brown bag again. “Friends who love each other!”

“So… do you mean that literally or… boyfriend?”

Kirby blinked, resting the bag against his non-existent shoulder. “The last one sounds nice…”

Fluff laughed, playfully shoving Kirby afterwards. “Visit often, okay? Next time you come we can share the Maxim Tomato. No possession interruptions this time.”

Kirby nodded, all giddy like. “You can always call me too! You have a phone right?”

The king nodded as well. “And maybe when you do visit, you could help with the guard training?”

“That sounds fun! Maybe we can sled on Mt. Slide too! Or do some more of those races in Pyramid Sands! Or-”

“Kirby.” Kirby looked back to Meta Knight, chuckling. The knight stared at the two, and even if he didn’t speak, Kirby knew he was waiting for him. 

Hugging Fluff again, he waved and tightened his grip on his bag. “I’ll see you soon.”

Fluff waved back. “And… thank you for your help. Again.”

Kirby looked towards his elder friend, who had the portal sock in his gloved hands.

Waving for the second and last time, Kirby and Meta Knight had left the castle, leaving Fluff smiling. Like everyone else, that gloom was nowhere in sight.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. The last chapter. It's so weird, yet also bittersweet to actually be posting this one... is it weird to actually be missing writing about these two?  
> Throughout all of January, I never thought this story would've gotten as popular as it did. If I did, I probably would've planned this story a lot more. I remember being completely shocked when this story had 20 kudos! 20! And now... it's nearly four times that number! I just want to say thank you to you all; whether you loved this story, hated it, or even if you are just one of my non-Kirby fan friends who read this out of pity. If it weren't for you, I probably would've lost the motivation to write this a long time ago.  
> Well, I'll save the rest of the rambling for the bottom notes. I hope you like this last chapter!

Kirby titled his head with his bright pink phone close to his face. The breeze outside slowly stopped, but Kirby was too confused to really notice it.

“Ah- sorry Kirby.” Fluff’s voice came out of the phone, and within moments Kirby heard him shout, but not exactly to him. “Why did you say that Dom?!”

Dom’s voice was hard to hear, but Kirby was able to understand within a few moments. “You told me you were thinking about it, and I think it’s a good idea!”

“I-I never said that!” Kirby could imagine Fluff going purple at that response, which made Kirby giggle and swing his feet. 

“Flufffff.” Kirby spoke, which got the other’s attention. Sitting up from the little- slightly uncomfortable- bed, he moved the phone to the other side of his face. “We’re supposed to tell each other everything!”  
  


“You’re still holding me against that…” Fluff went silent, slightly groaning. “...You’re right. You’re right. I... might’ve been thinking about it…”

Kirby just chuckled. “I just don’t know how to answer that.”

“I don’t mind you saying no! After all, you have other friends at your home. And we’re still technically kids...”

“But I love _you_!” Kirby whined. 

Fluff made some gibberish muttering.

“Besides, he would still be over there.” Dom explained through the background. “But he’d be here a lot more often as well!”

“Dom, stop standing behind me and go talk to your brothers!” Fluff yelled, which made Kirby laugh more. Within a few moments, Fluff sighed again. “Dom’s great and all, but he needs to calm down…”

“...I prefer this over him having needles tied to him.” Kirby commented.

“Oh my- shut up Kirby!” Fluff laughed, which resulted in Kirby laughing too. “That’s common sense!”

The two laughed for a bit, before Fluff spoke again. “You’ll be here tomorrow, right?”

“Of course!” 

“Okay, well, I’ll see you then, right?” Fluff asked. “And forget about the guard thing.”

“If you say so…” Kirby almost sang, giggling. “Love you, king!”

“Heh… both of those are still weird to hear… love you too, hero of dreamland.”

After that, the phone let out a high pitched _beep_ , and Kirby removed the phone from his face. His entire body excited and warm, Kirby placed the phone into his little bag, smiling widely. His hands were completely clear of what happened, which made him even happier.

But the smile didn’t last, because it reminded him of his second injury. He looked up to see a mirror across from his bed, seeing his reflection. He felt near his right eye, which had a small darkened bit of skin that Kirby liked to imagine as a weirdly shaped heart. It wasn’t obvious from a distance, but clear if you were close to his face. Fluff had told him it should’ve healed, so it greatly confused him as to why it was still there. Meta Knight told him it was most likely because it was more damaging than the other injury, and that being yarn when it happened didn’t help in the slightest. To Kirby that made him upset it could be a forever thing.

“You two sure were lovey dovey.” 

Speaking of Meta Knight.

Kirby turned his head to see the knight in the doorframe, the silver walls around them making his yellow eyes shine even more. His cape was curled around him like a coat, even if it wasn't cold.

“Meta Knight!” Kirby exclaimed, hopping off his bed the instant he saw him. He sprinted over to him, hugging the elder immediately. Meta Knight stepped back to not fall over, and he slightly chuckled. “It’s been so long!” Kirby shouted.

The elder blinked, moving Kirby slightly. “...It’s been an hour.”

“Exactly! An hour is…” Kirby stopped, moving a hand by the side of his face and pulling away from the hug. “...I feel like I did this before.”

“You did. Four months ago.” 

“Right.” Kirby laughed.

Meta Knight moved himself, the cape moving from being around him to behind him like a cape was usually. “We just landed, and you’re lucky that the crew offered to move the next cargo this time.” He looked towards Kirby, his gaze loosening to be more friendly. “So let’s go meet King Dedede and Bandana Dee for lunch.”

Kirby almost forgot that he was on the Halberd. Grabbing his bag, he skipped out of the room with the elder, smiling. “Does this mean I’m not in trouble anymore?”

“You were out of trouble for a few weeks now.” Meta Knight responded, shrugging slightly.

Kirby smiled, following the other out. As the two exited the Halberd, Kirby almost flinched when he saw the sunlight peeking out from a window in Dedede’s castle. Covering his eyes with one hand, he squinted to make sure not to run into any boxes.

“What was that conversation about?” Meta Knight asked.

“Huh?” Kirby asked, by now forgetting what he was talking about.

And for once, Meta Knight wasn’t vague. “When I entered, your boyfriend was talking about how you ‘didn’t need to do something’.”

“Oh.” Kirby glanced towards the ground. “Well, Fluff’s mentor guy suggested that I’d become a full time teacher for the guards there, to help Fluff out. They want the guards to become experienced in multiple weapons, and they think my past experiences would help.” Kirby explained. “...Considering my copy ability power here.”

“Well, it's a fair point.” Meta Knight spoke. “And it would finally give you something to do like the rest of us.”

“But I’m not sure!” Kirby exclaimed, moving his hands as they jumped up the stairs. The knight’s feet were calm and made clicking noises thanks to his armor, while Kirby’s was. Well. Kirby. “It would make me need to stay in Patch Land during weekdays, I think the guard training takes a break on Fridays through Monday.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I won’t be able to see you or King Dedede or Bandana Dee that often!” Kirby whined. “I’d be only to come to Dreamland afterwards, which would mean late at night or during the weekends!”

“Then don’t do it.” Meta Knight responded.

“But that’s just it!” Kirby pulled on Meta Knight’s flowing cape with one hand, which caused the knight to stop and turn to the pink puffball when they got to the top of the stairs. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it! I really like Fluff… and I wouldn’t hate living there with him! And it would be great to see him a lot more in general. Patch Land is great! But I finished my vow there, so a lot of things I would do there I could do here.”

Meta Knight slightly nodded, his golden eyes still shining through the mask. 

“I guess I just am not sure.”

Meta Knight nodded again. “It’s okay to not know. You could always think about it. There’s no deadline.” His wings stretched slightly before hiding back in the cape.

“Yeah…” 

After leaving the staircase, Meta Knight and Kirby entered another main room. Kirby was surprised to see Bandana Dee and King Dedede already sitting on the table, while other Waddle Dees had placed the food down before sitting in nearby chairs. 

The moment the king saw Kirby, Dedede smiled and waved one gloved hand. His mouth was already full of different foods, so Kirby almost couldn’t understand when Dedede shouted out “Hiya Kirbs!”

Kirby excitedly jumped onto the seat next to the king, dropping his bag right next to him, seeing Bandana Dee wave across from him. Meta Knight sat next to the kid a lot slower, doing a half wave to both.

“How has the past two months been?” Dedede asked, more or less focusing it on Kirby.

“Same as usual.” Meta Knight answered instead. “There was a moment some Burning Leos got into a heated argument, but that was about it.”

Dedede seemed a little annoyed that the knight answered instead, but didn’t say anything.

The pink puffball shoved multiple foods in his mouth like his king friend, and Bandana Dee looked over to Meta Knight. “How’s Sailor Dee?”

“He’s expressed missing the other Waddle Dees.” Meta Knight moved his mask slightly to take a sip of tea.

Kirby gulped his food before adding on. “He’ll probably come by when he’s done with the cago!”

“Cargo.” Meta Knight corrected.

Kirby began to eat more food, before Dedede broke the few second silence. “Have ya kept in contact with that other king friend of yours?” the penguin asked Kirby.

Kirby swallowed a cookie, and was about to speak. But Meta Knight answered instead, again. “They’ve been calling each other non stop. It would even interrupt visits with other areas.”

Kirby laughed, heating up. “I like talking to him!”

“Aww.” Bandana Dee giggled. 

“At this rate, people are going to think you two are a thing.” Dedede chuckled, which resulted in all three of them staring at the king.

“...They are.” Meta Knight clarified as Kirby grabbed more cookies.

“What?!” Dedede glared at the knight. “Why didn’t you tell me Meta?!”

“I thought the boy pulling Kirby aside when we were about to leave made it obvious.”

“Anything could’ve happened during that talk!”

“Kirby _talked_ about confessing. He was his _suitor_.”

The two narrowed their eyes, until Bandana Dee waved his hands. “Guys, does it really matter? It wasn’t like Kirby was intentionally hiding it.”

The two stared, before relaxing again. Kirby smiled towards Bandana Dee before speaking again. “Speaking of not hiding things.” He ate another cookie. “Fluff offered about me teaching the guards in Patch Land.”

Bandana Dee and Dedede were silent, before Dedede shouted. “So you really are going to move there! That’s amazing Kirbs!”

“With all of us settling into a new purpose, I never thought you’d find yours!” The Waddle Dee added. Even if his voice wasn’t as loud as Dedede’s shouts, he still sounded excited. “Are you going to do it?” Bandana asked.

“He isn't sure.” Meta Knight’s voice was heard before Kirby could respond. Meta Knight seemed to like answering Kirby’s questions today.

Kirby quickly added. “I guess I need to think about it. It would mean that I’d be here a lot less.”

“Well, if you do it, I wouldn’t mind!” Dedede laughed. “After all, it's only a sock away!”

“We are happy with whatever you decide.” Bandana Dee added.

Kirby smiled. “Thanks guys.” 

After that, Dedede had changed the topic to himself. After a bit, all three of his friends had gotten into a conversation, with Dedede and Meta Knight bickering every once in a while. Kirby only ate and listened, seeming to get lost in thought as he picked with the red table setting while eating.

✥✥✥

Knocking on the straw door, Kirby skipped into the room, feeling the dawn sunbeam go away when he shut the door behind him. The smell of food activated his hunger, and as much as he dreaded it, he reminded himself to not eat everything just yet.

“Kawasaki?” he called, stepping towards the kitchen area.

Chef Kawasaki seemed to notice Kirby instantly, stepping out of the kitchen before Kirby could go in like last time, and he smiled. “Kirby! It’s been a while!”

“It sure has been!” Kirby giggled, jumping onto the nearest table seat. He seemed to find himself staring at the group photos on the wall, smiling slightly when he saw all his friends.

It was like they weren't going anywhere.

They were still here, in Dreamland. Doing their own thing.

And they'd most likely express not caring what Kirby decided.

He didn’t even notice the few plates of food on the table until Kawasaki pointed them out. Smiling widely again, he turned back to Kawasaki. “Thank you!”

“You looked a little troubled.” Kawasaki explained, moving his chef hat back to being flat against his head. “Did you not ever find that sock?”

“No, I did!” Kirby smiled, shoving multiple foods in his mouth. When he looked towards the cookies, however, he left them be. “I had a good trip!”

“That’s great to hear!” Kawasaki cheered. “Are you going to go more?”

“I think.” Kirby answered, holding the cookies in his hand. He inhaled, before looking up to Kawasaki. “I came here to think about it more with food.”

Kawasaki seemed slightly confused, but didn’t faze. “Well, I’d rather you do what makes you happy, alright bud?” Patting Kirby on the head, Kirby giggled.

Kirby nodded, turning back to the paintings. He was acting like he’d never see his other friends again. Whatever he decided, he would still see the others. Seeing all his other friends together and happy, he couldn’t help but see Fluff wasn’t in any of them. Only the sock was in the pictures.

That reminded Kirby how he had missed so much with Fluff.

Not even the fact that Yin-Yarn returned while he was gone, but the potential times of just hanging out with Fluff. And now, not only was Fluff a king, but they were dating too!

Dedede, Bandana Dee, and even Meta Knight encouraged him to do what made him happy… and Kirby seemed to finally find out what would make him the most happy right now.

Kirby stared at the wall, before smiling. Grabbing the cookies, he hopped off the seat. “Thank you again, Kawasaki!”

Kawasaki waved. “Make sure to visit!”

“I will!”

He left the straw building, inhaling the fresh air. The sunlight heated himself up, before he grew excited again.

Now that he decided, he needed to visit a forest one more time.

He glanced towards the straw house, before booking into a run towards the nearest forest with his cookies. He found himself going the wrong way at first, so he skidded to a stop before running the proper way. His feet almost tripped on nearby roots when he entered, which seemed to get the attention he was looking for that moment. Because he didn’t need to get too far into the woods for Kirby to hear that familiar, booming voice.

“Why are you here?” Whispy Woods groaned, getting ready to drop some apples to harm him. 

“I wanted to say thank you!” Kirby explained, dodging an apple real quick. “For being a good friend!”

“We’re not friends.”

Kirby laughed, floating up onto the forest guardian’s nearest branch. Patting the trunk with his empty hand, he giggled as Whispy seemed to get even more angry. “You might not, but I think of you as a friend! I had a fun time on vacation, and I’ve finally decided what to do next. That means I won’t be around as much.”

“That’s relieving.”

“I wanted to tell you so that you knew.” Hopping back down from the tree, he made sure to not land on a tree root. “I’ll make sure to visit, okay?”

“I’d rather you not.”

Kirby giggled, turning and waving. “It’ll be from a distance then.” Checking the cookies he still held in his hand, and turned and ran off again, leaving Whispy Woods to not even attack to get him to leave.

✥✥✥

“So, you decided?”

“Yep!” Kirby exclaimed, holding his bag close to his face as Meta Knight stood near him. “And I made sure to tell everyone. Whispy, Kawasaki, Taranza, Marx, I even called up Ribbon! I told everyone!” 

Meta Knight nodded, and Dedede moved him aside to see Kirby’s face. “We’re gonna miss you Kirbs. Make sure to come by often!”

Kirby laughed. “I’m not leaving for forever! I’ll still visit a lot!”

“Either way, it’ll be a little less than the norm.” Meta Knight said, his wings stretching slightly. “Have you told Fluff about your decision?”

Kirby shrugged his nonexistent shoulders. “Not yet.”

The elder’s eyes slightly narrowed.

“I’m going to tell him when I get there!” The pink puffball laughed.

“Well, either way, we’ll plan lunches with all four of us every chance we get!” Bandana Dee replied.

“Of course!” Dedede chuckled. “And don’t think I’ll not visit you in Patch Land too!”

“We hope you enjoy it.” Meta Knight added.

Kirby smiled widely, pulling all four of the two into a hug. “Thank you.” He giggled, slightly tearing up. He held his friends close, even if he knew Meta Knight was hating it, thinking back to everything.

They had been through so much, and now here they were. Meta Knight, Dedede and Bandana Dee having their new purpose for a little more than a year. Everyone had settled into peace for so long, and in a way, Kirby finally found his. He finally found something to do. And, maybe it wouldn’t have him fighting enemies like he missed four months ago, but it would give him an excitement similar to it. Hanging out with Fluff.

Funny, Kirby never would’ve thought what was originally a week long vacation would not only help him with his feelings towards Void Termina, but finally give him something to do other than sleep and eat. 

He never would’ve thought dating Fluff would come out of that either.

Letting his friends go, he wiped some tears away. “I’ll visit every chance I get! And maybe I can have Fluff come too!”

“You better!” King Dedede laughed. 

Giggling, Kirby grabbed the magic sock from Meta Knight, waving towards the friends one last time. He felt the clean fabric before taking a deep breath. Looking towards his friends for one last time, he placed his empty hand into the sock, and closed his eyes.

And when he opened his eyes, he found himself confused to be in… his room? Weird… why would Fluff move the sock to his apartment, rather than the castle where it had always been? 

He felt a weird sense of deja vu, dropping his bag over by his star glowing bed, as the usual. He made sure to grab the cookies out before so, however.

Kirby walked over to the entrance, turning on the lights in the room. He glanced from side to side, from the candy printed carpet to the striped pink walls, to the light blue furniture to the glowing star bed once again. With a slightly worrisome face, he opened the door of his apartment.

As soon as he did, someone threw themselves onto him, Kirby squeaking in response. Kirby smiled widely when he saw Fluff nuzzling his head against Kirby’s, and he grew ecstatic. “Kirby!”

As the two hugged, Kirby looked behind him to see Patch Landians crowding around the shops, talking and enjoying themselves. He sighed in relief, nuzzling the king’s face again. “Fluff! You had me worried there!”

“What, you thought something bad happened?” Fluff moved away, his eyebrows narrowed as he smirked playfully.

Kirby chuckled. Until he noticed what Fluff was wearing, not including the slightly broken crown with its shining gem in the center. “Are you wearing the cape again?”

Fluff’s face went purple, and he laughed nervously. “Yeahhhh.” He moved his hand, taking the fluffy cape off of him. “I realized it was a bad idea though.”

The two stared at each other, before they broke into a laugh.

“I’ll leave it here.” Fluff replied, Kirby opening the door and Fluff tossed the cape onto the couch. “Now come on!”

Fluff grabbed Kirby’s hand, motioning him away from the castle. Kirby blinked. “Wait, aren't we going to the castle? Not even gonna stop by Zeke and the others?”

“We can talk with them later!” Fluff responded. The blue puffball started to skip out of Quilty Square, Kirby moving as fast as he could to catch up. “I set up a picnic in Treat Land, the maxim tomato is there too!”

“...What?”

“Yeah!” Fluff looked towards Kirby. “It was this whole plan for the perfect first date, and I've been sorta planning it since we confessed. So after the tomato, we can also snack on all the treats. If we start moving now, we can get there before nightfall, and watch the sunset too!” Fluff explained, throwing his hands to exaggerate. But he suddenly got very awkward, as if he started overthinking again. “...This is too much, isn’t it?”

“Not at all!” Kirby smiled widely. “It sounds fun!”

Fluff sighed, and Kirby took the opportunity to give Fluff one of the cookies he had been holding for way too long. “Great.”

Giggling, the two traveled side by side through Grass Land, staying close to each other the entire way. They were silent for a bit, before Fluff spoke again.

“It scarred?”

Kirby was confused, until he remembered his face. “Oh- yeah…” he frowned.

Fluff thought for a moment, before pointing towards the crown forever stitched to him. “Guess we have another thing in common.” he chuckled. “And it’s kinda cute, too.”

Kirby laughed again. “Thanks…’

“I know I said it many times before, but I greatly appreciate all the help you’ve done. You got yourself scarred… just for this place.” Fluff commented, fidgeting with the broken crown he was previously mentioning. “Patch Land has been great these last few months.”

Kirby smiled. “It makes me happy to hear that… again.” He muttered the last part. “And I would’ve gladly done it again.”

“I know.”

The two were slightly silent again, passing through Fountain Gardens. Kirby decided now was to say it.

“Fluff, about helping Patch Land-”

“Let’s race to Treat Land!” Fluff suggested, morphing into a car form and driving off. 

Kirby could only forget what he was going to say and follow after the king.

They ended up racing through the rest of Grass Land, Kirby smiling when they passed by the beanstalk that led to Fangora’s resting place. He would need to visit him again at some point. The rest of Grass Land was bright with citizens, which was the complete opposite from when Kirby showed up four months ago.

Hot Land was an experience too. The buildings had been rebuilt from the situation with Hot Wings; who was definitely back in her volcano sleeping, and even if Kirby wasn’t fond of passing by Temper Temple again, the citizens made him feel a lot better. 

And when they had finally got to Treat Land, Fluff led Kirby up towards a cake mountain, which had a fabric blanket on top, with a picnic basket on top of that, with the maxim tomato inside. Fluff bowed towards Kirby, which resulted in Kirby giggling even more. Kirby sat down on the blanket, with Fluff sitting right next to him.

Fluff showed the maxim tomato from the picnic basket, looking just as it had all that time ago. Fluff chuckled. “You are so lucky yarn food doesn’t rot.”

Kirby could only look towards the distance, remembering what he was going to say. “Hey, Fluff?”

“Yeah, hero of dreamland?”

Kirbt turned towards Fluff, who had already cut the maxim tomato in half. Kirby gladly took the tomato and ate in one bite, and Fluff slowly ate his half as Kirby spoke again. “Remember that offer Dom mentioned on the phone call?”

Fluff flinched, and started coughing from quickly swallowing a bit of the tomato. Kirby’s eyes went wide when the king slowly cleared his throat, and when he was finally breathing again, he looked to Kirby with his eyebrows narrowing again. “I thought I told you to forget about that?”

“Yeah… I didn’t. For once.” 

Fluff groaned. “Look, I’m sorry Dom even brought it up. I get it, you love Dreamland. It was a thought since I saw you with those guard trainees, and I shouldn’t have said anything to Dom. it was stupid of me and-”

Kirby placed his hand on Fluff’s mouth, causing Fluff to go purple in an instant. “Sometimes, you gotta admit the past happened, remember?”

Fluff blinked, before his eyebrows furrowed even more. His confused voice didn’t stop him from being awkward though. “T-that literally doesn’t make sense in this scenario.”

Kirby laughed, admitting that the blue puffball was right. “What I mean to say, is that you shouldn’t be upset about it!” 

“Yeah, right. Why bring it up anyways?”

“Well…” Kirby moved from sitting next to Fluff to facing him directly. “I thought about it, and talked with a lot of people in Dreamland about it. And I’ll do it!”

Fluff made sure to learn from last time, so he didn’t eat when Kirby spoke. Yet it still caused him to flinch again when Kirby spoke. “A- really?!”

Kirby smiled. He did a half bow in his seat, which definitely looked weird since he was, again, sitting and not standing. “That’s right! The hero of dreamland will gladly help you with the guard training!”

Fluff was silent, before chuckling. “Oh my… wow. Okay.” He smiled. “That’s ni- great! I guess we can start immediately then!”

“I might need a new title though,” Kirby sighed, placing his hand on the side of his face. “Maybe Kirby: the suitor to King Fluff?”

“Oh- Kirby stop!” Fluff laughed, being a blushing mess at this point.

The two went into another laughing fit, before the two leaned against each other again, watching the sun slowly setting on Patch Land. Kirby could see Popstar in the distance already, which made him smile.

Kirby loved Popstar, he loved Dreamland. But now Kirby would be living in two areas, with the majority being in Patch Land. 

Patch Land. With Fluff.

He wouldn’t forget any socks this time.

He wouldn’t be upset over Void Termina this time.

He wouldn’t risk possession with Yin-Yarn this time.

  
  
  
  
  


...And there would be no “one more week”s this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I finished writing the bittersweet notes at the beginning, I'll give off some hopefully good news now that you reached the end! This will probably not be the only work from me!  
> I currently have another multi-chapter Kirfluff story in the planning, with my very own au this time! But that will be a lot longer in production if I decide to actually do it, since that one won't be a one month challenge. But, I already have some ideas of a story and even what POV it would be this time! And who knows, maybe I'll post oneshots of these two kiddos as well? Who knows!  
> Thank you all for giving my story so much attention, I wouldn't be able to fully show how grateful I am. I hope you all will give my future works the same amount of love, and please. Have a lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if anyone goes off character at all!  
> I had to write this though. There's only 9 stories in the Prince Fluff/Kirby tag.
> 
> Also, I'm not HAL. I don't own any characters.


End file.
